Romania – Cave diving & karst springs
Romania's cave diving happens in a handful of deep karst resurgences, most of them in the Apuseni Mountains. Around Gârda de Sus and Arieșeni the Tăuz spring, the terminal sump of Coiba Mare and the Cotețul Dobreștilor spring have drawn Polish, Czech, Swiss and Finnish expeditions since the 1980s, with depths of 76–92 m and several fatalities. In the Pădurea Craiului the Izbândiș spring holds the national record of 129 m (2024, Salvamont Cluj divers), and in Mehedinți the Izverna cave has a chain of sumps, the longest over 400 m. These are exploration dives in 4–9 °C water, often with near-zero visibility after rain. Speleological diving needs authorisation from the Speleological Heritage Commission, and no commercial operator offers guided dives here.