“Surprizelor” Cave was discovered by Chisinau Speleologists on May 26, 1985. As a result of one of the dozens of trips across Moldova, the second largest cave in Moldova was discovered. A great (and well-deserved!) success, as now the club was provided with a close (an hour drive from the city) and a very interesting front of work for many years to come. In addition, the cave has been intensively used all these years for training and familiarizing young people with caves.
From the memoirs of Peter Dmitriev, “UNDERGROUND TRAILS.”, newspaper “Evening Chisinau”, 1985
On May 26, we first descended into this “hole”. They called the cave “Syurpriznaya” – it presented so many surprises. Over the past months, our section has explored and mapped almost 500 untraveled meters. Not easy, of course, meters, but that’s the whole point.
…I go down first into a ten-meter, almost vertical well. And so I enter the hall, the largest in Surprise.
While the next one, Sasha Omelchenko, is descending, my lantern “looks around” the stone cavity: it is thirty meters long, six meters wide and three-story building high.
The first two months (until mid-July 1985) the cave was open only up to SSKD.
During 1986 intensive work is underway on the further passage of Surprise. Excavations, excavations… The cave is growing rapidly, becoming a real factory to attract new speleologists. In addition, this is an invaluable sport caving ground for the club – great experience is gained in the passage of gaps, extreme narrowness and the technique of excavating blockages. Somewhere in this year, the first topographical survey of the open part is made. In the same year, our first UBC (Underground Base Camp) is organized in Surprizelor in order to train and develop the technology of underground life and the delivery of goods through numerous narrownesses. At the same time (for the first time) a wired telephone connection with the UBC is being organized – the development of technologies that were very useful next year in vertical caves in Arabica.
The last big breakthrough in Surprizelor was in 1989 – Student System.
In 1986, under the leadership of Petr Dmitriev, ABIS carried out the first topographical survey of the cave (with P. Dmitriev, E. Ivantsova, V. Egorov, O. Kosheva, A. Babichev.)
After the opening of the cave, Surprizelor becomes a real training ground for those who like to tickle their nerves. Why, you ask? Yes, because she has an open day at any time of the year.
In 2006, the NGO “Lupii” expressed their interest in the development of the cave. Excerpts from the NGO website:
Protecting and landscaping Surpriznaya Cave is a top priority. The public organization “Wolves” from Chisinau, together with the local authorities of the city of Criuleni, the public organization “Fauna”, the Paleontological Association of the Republic of Moldova, with the financial support of the Regional Center for the Environment of Moldova, initiated a project to promote, conserve and equip the Cave “Surpriznaya” in 2004. The project includes the arrangement of tourist accommodation, cleaning of the cave and its surroundings, marking and mapping of the cave, as well as the tourist route from Criuleni to the entrance to the Surprise Cave. The public organization “Wolves” together with its partners held a campaign to promote the cave through the media, organized an information seminar for the population about the unique value of the cave, informed about the changes and completed works on arrangement during the project dedicated to the natural monument Surprise Cave
As a result, from all the declared promises, the garbage was removed, a temporary toilet and a table were installed.
Twice, at the insistence of ABIS, the entrance to the cave was sealed: 2004 and 2006. After some time, the doors were torn out, the entrance to the cave became free again.
At present, the walls of the cave are strewn with inscriptions, scratches, stains of soot from fires; floor, in the past usually strewn with garbage of various kinds, after several years of systematic cleaning became tolerantly clean.
The ABIS Club systematically organizes exits to the Surpriselor Cave for the purpose of cleaning. Volunteers are very welcome on such trips.