Poiana Ponor

Poiana Ponor (Hungarian: Ponor-rét) is a closed karst depression on the Padiș plateau in the Bihor Mountains (Apuseni), at about 1,085 m. High, partly forested ridges surround it and its floor is covered with grass. Romanian Wikipedia calls the meadow one of the few typical poljes in the Romanian mountains; the newspaper Adevărul writes that it is the only polje in the country that is both fed and drained through underground karst channels.

The stream of the meadow rises at the Izbucul Ponor spring under a rock wall, where a small pool is fed through a siphon. The water arrives underground from the Șesul Padiș plain and from streams that sink into swallow holes higher up. After a short steep stretch the stream turns sharply right, meanders slowly for about 240 m across the flat grass and disappears into the "sorburi" — narrow openings in the bed covered with fine sand. At low water two of them work. After persistent rain or snowmelt new ones start working, and when even these cannot cope the whole meadow turns into a temporary lake; the surplus spills over a rocky sill in the north-west and runs as a violent torrent towards the Cetăților valley.

What to see and do

• The Izbucul Ponor spring — a separate branch of the path leads to it from the meadow.
• The sinkholes and the limestone wall with several caves above the place where the stream vanishes.
• The pasture — horses and flocks of sheep graze the meadow in summer; Romanian Wikipedia notes that intensive grazing harms the reserve.
• Cetățile Ponorului — the karst complex with a 74 m high portal further along the same loop.

How to get there

The meadow lies on the Cetățile Ponorului loop, marked with a blue dot (11.3 km, about 6 h 30 min for the whole loop, difficult). From the Padiș tourist complex the path crosses the Gârjoaba valley, reaches Poiana Rotundă in about an hour and then descends to Ponor. A shorter approach is from Poiana Glăvoi, one kilometre to the north-west. The loop itself has cables and metal ladders and is not recommended in winter, but an ordinary forest path leads as far as the meadow.

Season, rules and safety

The meadow is a nature reserve within Apuseni Natural Park and camping here is prohibited — in the past visitors used to pitch tents right on the stream terraces. The best time is June to September. After heavy rain and during snowmelt the grass may flood, so do not leave gear by the water and stay out of the stream bed near the sinkholes.

Bears live in the Romanian Carpathians: stay on the marked paths, never leave food by a tent or a car, and near flocks do not run from the sheepdogs — stop and walk calmly around the herd. Salvamont mountain rescue: national dispatch 0SALVAMONT — 0725 826 668 or 112; advice for hikers is on salvamontromania.ro.

Nearby

Poiana Glăvoi is the starting place of most routes, the Padiș plateau with its central Șesul Padiș plain lies to the north, and further north still is Poiana Vărășoaia.

Official website: parcapuseni.ro

Photos: Szodorai Imre [Hun], CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Szécsi Bálint, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Cioboata Andrei, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.