Walk No. 30 - Strange rock formations of the Ciucas Mountains
You arrive to Cluj Napoca airport. You will have a FREE guided tour in the city, depending on your flight hours. Transfer to Brasov where you will spend the night.
Setting out from Brasov, we continue towards the East, in the middle of the Carpathian Bend. This is where the Soutern Carpathians meet the Eastern Carpathians and the mighty range turns to the North. This is also a very varied and interesting area with some small but very nice mountain ranges. One of the nicest is the Ciucas Mountains. We head tot he Cabana Ciucas where we are taken up by a 4×4 vehicle. After a refreshment at the mountain hut, we set out on foot to discover. Ciucas in famous for its peculiar rock formations. The erosion has provided for some of the most interesting rock formations of the Carpathians. These have special names, just in a fairytale castle we find here all kinds of exotic beauties: the Lovers, Kissing Rocks, Goliats, the Giant and so on. Spires, columns, mushrooms, gently rounded cones greet us on our way. The path gently winds up to a height of 1954 m, the highest peak named Ciucas. We are surrounded by typical Carpathian vegetation, pines, huge meadows and lots of flowers. Best time to go is early summer, when the Rododendron bushes flower and the green slopes are covered with a lush pink blanket. From the peak we descend some 200 meters and continue our way on a long, beautiful ridge, with some very nice views. We slowly descend until we reach Bratocea Pass at a height of 1272 meters. This is the place where the bus waits for us and takes us back tot he city of Brasov. Time for a little sightseeing in one of the most beautiful cities of Transylvania. (Easy/medium hike. Distance 16 km. Height difference 500 m up, 800 m down. Duration 6-7 hours.)