Presentation of the Turda Gorges
Situate in extremitatea estica a Muntilor Apuseni, Muntii Trascaului sunt delimitati de catre Valea Ampoiului la sud, care-i desparte de Muntii Metaliferi, Dealurile Clujului la nord, spre Podisul Transilvaniei si Masivul Gilau-Muntele Mare la vest. Aflate in extremitatea nordica a acestor munti si aparent "rupte de ei" prin cursul Vaii Ariesului, Cheile Turzii se dezvolta in prelungirea culmii calcaroase de origine jurasica Rameti-Bedeleu-Ciumerna, care se extinde in directia nord-est spre Podisul Transilvaniei formand Culmea Petresti.
This last rocky promoter, with a length of approximately 15 km, was pierced by the course of the Hajdatelor valley and the Racilor stream, which formed two parallel key sectors, Turda Keys and Tureni Keys.
They are just two of the 22 gorges of the Trascaul Mountains, one of the best represented mountain ranges in Romania in these forms of exocarstic relief.
Although the neighboring Turenilor gorges have a greater horizontal development (1850 m), the Turda Gorges, with a length of only 1270 m, are imposed from a morphological and tourist point of view by the vertical development and the amplitude of the walls being the keys with the higher vertical walls within the Apuseni Mountains. Their geological structure can be traced to a depth of approximately 250 m. Between the two massifs that delimit them, Culmea Manastirii (793 m) and Dealul Sandului (759 m).
Urcand pe firul vaii dinspre Cabana Cheile Turzii situata in aval cei doi versanti se dezvaluie inegal. Versantul stang isi etaleaza treptat verticalele deasupra cabanei si a Povarnisului Emil Pop prin Peretele Cald (denumire data de alpinisti, datorita orientarii sud-estice care face posibila catararea in perioadele reci ale anului) si Peretele Marac suspendati deasupra pantelor acoperite cu vegetatie. Poteca larga in acest sector al cheilor parcurge palcuri de padure, iar in drumul nostru la cateva sute de metri de cabana intalnim cladirea unei vechi mori de apa, langa zidurile ei stau incremenite pietrele de macinat. In imediata apropiere a morii traversam paraul pe primul pod al cheilor si urmam poteca umbrita de frunzisul copacilor.
The appearance of the walls is abruptly interrupted by the Mihai Bors Tower, whose crest descends almost to the valley floor and leads to a labyrinth of walls, with various orientations, interrupted by grassy ledges, largely unknown to climbers, with the exception of the slabs of the Alghine wall.
We cross the second bridge of the keys, and the path leads us to the base of the Yellow Tower (named after the characteristic color of its upper part), which makes the transition to the great walls of the left slope, being the first wall measuring over 100 m. Hidden from the top of the Tower. Yellow and separated by the verticals of the walls that border the path of a wide grassy ridge is the Wall of Nails, and in its left extremity delimited by a short ridge and the edge of the Giant Wall, we find the amphitheater that forms the Goat Wall and Erasmus Nyaradi Wall.
Aceasta inlantuire de pereti este doar preambulul Peretelui Urias o imensa platosa stancoasa, cu o inaltime de aproximativ 200 m, care porneste din apele Hasdatelor si este marcat in partea superioara de o succesiune de turnuri (Turnul Martirilor, Turnul Fecioarei). In continuarea jumatatii superioare a Peretelui Urias se desfasoara Peretele Porumbeilor despartit de firul vaii de pante inierbate si mici pereti. In partea lui stanga se inalta cele mai impozante formatiuni stancoase ale cheilor care se constituie ca un adevarat simbol al acestui monument al naturii: portalul Grotei lui Hill si muchia ingusta a Turnului Ascutit, impresionante prin verticalitatea si severitatea peretilor.
Traseul potecii prin chei devine mai ingust, aceasta strecurandu-se paralel cu firul vaii, pe unele portiuni fiind amenajata direct in stanca. In partea dreapta, peste apa paraului, observam peretele "Poligonului" si muchia Turnului Despartitor flancat de conul de grohotis al Zurusului Lung.
Also at this point, on the right slope, we find the only spring with permanent flow inside the gorges, The Keys' Graveyard, fed by rainwater that accumulates under the rubble of Zurus Cetatii.
From this point the left slope loses in the dimensions of the verticals being characterized by small walls followed by long ridges that form a series of excellent areas for climbing such as: Aerial Wall, Cetateaua Mica Area, Scorus and Gabor Feri areas. At the same time, this key point is an interesting tourist objective due to the entrances of the two caves located face to face on the two slopes, Cetateaua Mica and Cetateaua Mare, whose entrances were fortified with defensive walls built in the Middle Ages by the population, as shelters in times of hardship.
Unlike the left slope which has a chain of walls sometimes separated by branches covered with vegetation, the right slope is characterized by the presence of distinct limestone slabs. Downstream, the Eagle Wall, at the base of which is the longest cavity in the Turzii Gorges, the Hungarian Cave, dominates the upper part of the slope, the lower slopes being covered with forest, tanks and rubble cones. The development of rocky verticals is then interrupted by covered areas. of vegetation so that in the next moment it bursts again through the walls of the Rounded Corner and the Cracked Corner that flank the mysterious wall of the Suurimelor. The ridges of the two walls almost touch being separated only by the rocky spur of Puscariu Peak.
The drainage of rainwater from the closed amphitheater between these walls and the Suurime Wall led to the formation of a trough called "Mill" that separates the Puscariu Peak from the Cracked Corner, at the base being a rubble cone driven from the upper part of the slope.
The succession of the walls of the right slope continues through the Sansil Corner located above the The Keys' Graveyard, characterized by a narrow and very long ridge, followed at some distance by the Corner of the Citadel with the Great Fortress cave that ends the walls of this slope, the slopes being covered with forest.
The karst relief of the Turzii Gorges presents, along with the exocarst forms, lapies such as those from the Monastery Peak from the point called "La Bliduri" or the great sinkhole near the Sandulesti Cross, the ridges of the walls, etc., and a number of 32 caves and many others. grote. Due to the small amounts of infiltration waters, the caves have few specific formations such as stalactites and stalagmites, being mostly dry, this feature favoring human habitation in them since prehistory. Archaeological excavations carried out at various points have revealed traces of habitation dating from the early Neolithic, Late Eneolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Roman and feudal times.
Material taken from the book "Mountaineering and sport climbing in Turda Gorges", written by Dan Anghel and Nicolae Budeanca
