Peștera Izverna (Izverna-barlang)
A cave over 1.5 km long above the village of Izverna, crossed by an underground stream and feeding Mehedinți County's largest karst spring. Divers began pushing its sumps in 1979–1980: the Green siphon (about 50 m) and the shorter Yellow siphon, then the Black siphon, Romania's largest, over 400 m long with a 40 m drop. Jacques-Yves Cousteau's team visited in 1991. In November 2002 two Hungarian cavers died while supporting a record attempt.
Facts
- Region: Romania – Cave diving & karst springs
- Area: Mehedinți Mountains
- Depth: 0–40 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: cave
- Coordinates: 44.9793, 22.6262 (approximate)
- Highlights: longest network of flooded galleries in Romania, Green siphon about 50 m, Black siphon over 400 m long, 40 m deep, visited by Cousteau's team in 1991, two cavers died in 2002, feeds the village water supply
- Permit: Cave-diving exploration ('speleological dives by specialised teams') is an activity that needs authorisation from the Speleological Heritage Commission (Comisia Patrimoniului Speologic, Bucharest, Bld. Libertății 12); the authorisation sets entries and party size per cave and may include closed periods (e.g. bat hibernation). Diveable only with Full Cave / cave-diver certification, as a specialised team with local cavers; there is no published option for independent recreational dives.
- Issuer / contact: Speleological Heritage Commission (Comisia Patrimoniului Speologic), Ministry of Environment
- Email: cps@mmediu.ro
- Website: https://www.mmediu.ro/
- Unverified: Partly unverified: the cave's position is not published (the pin is the village), and no current diving activity or access rules were found; the history is from Adevărul and Romanian Wikipedia.
- Tips: Locals say the cave can only be entered with diving equipment. The spring supplies the village water, so keep it clean. The pin marks Izverna village, not the cave entrance.