The highly spectacular Danube Gorges are also known as “The Cauldron” and “The Iron Gates.” For about 145 km, between Buziaş (the first port after the Danube enters the Romanian territory) and Gura Văii (which lies 10 km away from the town of Drobeta Turnu-Severin), the Danube cuts its way through the steep, calcareous walls of the Carpathians and calls to mind, also because of the many rocks present on the river’s bottom, the image of water boiling deep in a cauldron. 

After entering the Romanian territory, the Danube goes first through the “Big Cauldrons,” and then, after 14 km, “The small Cauldrons.” On the stretch between these two gorges, the face of King Decebal sculpted on a calcareous rock evokes the period when the Romans built here, at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D., after their conquest of Dacia, the first bridge over the Danube and the first Danube canal. 

On the banks of the Danube, the natural park of Gura Văii-Gâlciorova, extending over 300 ha, provides shelter to a Mediterranean flora, including hazel trees, lilac trees, beech trees, oak trees, etc, and various species of animals—tortoises, horn vipers, scorpions, etc. The area also contains several caves cut in the calcareous rocks of the Carpathians, e.g. the caves of Veterani, Gura Policovei, Cuina Turcului, Alibec, etc.