Cacica – Salt Mine, Pilgrimage and Hiking Trails

In Cacica, the visitor route in the Salina Cacica salt mine includes a small museum in the mine-shaft building, an ecumenical chapel, the Dwarfs’ Gallery, a salt lake, a dance hall and a machinery museum.

Underground

Access to Salina Cacica is via a wooden staircase with 192 steps. The Catholic Chapel of Sf Varvara is located 21 metres underground in the Cacica salt mine and was built in 1806.

Hiking Trails and Nature

The “Mănăstirea Humorului” route from Cacica is marked with a yellow triangle, covers approximately 6.5 km to “La Monument” and takes about 2 hours uphill or approximately 1 hour 30 minutes downhill. The “Cetatea de piatră” route is marked with a blue triangle and covers approximately 7 km to the ridge of Obcina Cacica. Different markings, route lengths and direction-specific times help you compare the two trails according to your own daily schedule.

For planning the day, the two hiking routes can be considered separately based on their markings, approximate lengths and the stated direction-specific times. This keeps the differences between the route to “La Monument” and the trail to the ridge of Obcina Cacica clearly visible.

The “Cetatea de piatră” viewpoint is a sandstone-like erosion remnant offering views of Cacica and the Suceava Plateau. The rare orchid Cypripedium calceolus, locally called “Papucul Doamnei”, occurs in Cacica in the “Livada Salinei” area.

Orientation and Further Destinations

The Ecobiblioteca in Cacica is designated as a tourism information centre. Those weighing up different ideas for the day can compare the route information with the individual sights.

For further travel destinations, you can open Şaru Dornei, Prisaca Dornei, Şcheia, Dragomirna Monastery, Frasin, Suceava, Moldova-Sulița and Pojorâta from here.

For a stay in Cacica, you can compare hotels by travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions. The selection can be aligned with the previously mentioned focuses: underground sightseeing, marked hiking trails, nature observation, and religious and historical sites. This keeps personal priorities separate from the specific information about the individual destinations. The combination of nature, cultural and pilgrimage sites therefore remains visible as a separate selection.

Religion and History

The Basilica Minor of Cacica was built between 1903 and 1904 and consecrated on 16 October 1904. The Grota Lourdes in Cacica is a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes built in 1936.

The Geto-Dacian coin hoard discovered in Cacica comprises 485 silver coins and coin fragments; the coins are silver imitations of Macedonian tetradrachms from the 3rd to 2nd century BC.

The sanctuary of Cacica was elevated to a Basilica Minor by Pope John Paul II in 2000. The Basilica Minor in Cacica is a Catholic pilgrimage centre where services are celebrated in Romanian, Polish, German and Hungarian.

The pilgrimages to Cacica for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary have existed for more than 100 years; the first took place in 1905.

To the overarching travel overview: Suceava.