Duruitoarea Veche Gorge

The gorge at Duruitoarea Veche cuts through a limestone ridge in northwestern Moldova and holds caves that were excavated in the twentieth century, producing stone tools and animal bone from layers among the earliest evidence of human presence in the region, running back into the Middle Palaeolithic. The gorge itself is a protected landscape with reef limestone, steppe vegetation on the slopes and springs at the foot. The Ciuhur river cut the gorge, and the same limestone band running through this part of the country produced several other cave sites nearby.

What you actually see

• The caves - the shelters that produced the early occupation layers.
• The reef limestone - the fossil reef rock the gorge is cut into.
• The steppe slopes - the vegetation on the sunny sides of the gorge.
• The springs - the water rising at the foot of the cliffs.

When to go

April to October is the walking season. Spring brings the steppe flowers. Winter makes the slopes slippery.

Honest expectations

The caves are unmarked and there is no interpretation on site. Finds are in museums elsewhere. The track in is rough and the site takes finding.

Nearby

Rîșcani is nearby, and Suta de Movile is south.