Orhei and the Răut Valley

The village of Molovata, a little more than an hour from Chisinau, offers picturesque views of the Nistru River, a waterfall and a cave with an intriguing local legend. The Nistru is exceptionally wide at Molovata — more than a kilometer. Those who make their way to high ground are rewarded with a panoramic sweep of the river at Molovata, a community that dates to 1574. In addition to climbing rocks and absorbing stunning vistas, you can explore the Cave of Unfaithful Women at Molovata. Legend has it that a group of men spent four years in the cave extracting stone to build a church without going to the village to see their wives, fiancees and girlfriends. When the men finally returned, they discovered their partners had left them for others. So they concocted a curse: “Let unfaithful women who enter this cave be unable to find their way out.”

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