The Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park is a protected area in southwestern Romania, stretching across the territories of three counties
The Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park is a protected area in southwestern Romania, stretching across the territories of three counties, namely Caras-Severin, Mehedinti and Gorj. The Muntele Domogled Flower and Landscape Reserve, which is one of the park's 11 reserves, was set up in 1932. 58 years later, in 1990, the area was turned into the Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park, covering over 61 thousand hectares. It is a mountain area with more than 30 tourist routes, with many caves, gullies, gorges, waterfalls, meadows, old forests and nature reserves. The area is one of the rafting lovers' favorite and also a perfect spot for mountain climbers.
Mariana Pasarin is an expert with the Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park Administration and she told us more about the area:
"Our park boasts a lot of attractions, some of which are truly unique, such as its thermal caves. Others, shrouded in mystery, are based on a number of legends about how they took shape. There are also thermal caves that cannot be found anywhere else in Romania and that are very rare at European and global level. One of these caves that is open to tourists is the Steam Grotto, a wonder of speleology, with hot steam coming out of its fissures. Also, the park is home to many forms of relief. Given the fact that it is an area with a lot of limestone, it gets eroded easily, allowing for various phenomena to occur. There are also waterfalls, such as Vanturatoarea Waterfall, which is 40-meters high. What's spectacular about it is the fact that tourists can see this waterfall also from behind, given the fact that the mountain route leading to this waterfall allows it to be admired from both sides. Another waterfall is Cociului Waterfall, the highest in the country, measuring 120 meters."
The Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park is the only such site in the country that comprises an entire river basin. Specifically, it is the basin of Cerna River with all its tributaries, and Cerna Valley is regarded as the most beautiful in the Carpathians. It is a lengthwise corridor separating 2 mountain ranges, a 40-km long gorge along the Cerna, bounded by thick deciduous and coniferous forests.
Here is Mariana Păsărin again:
"The spring of Cerna is called Izbucul Cernei, and it has the highest flow rate in Romania, around 1.5 - 2 cubic metres per second, but when it rains it may even reach 10 cubic metres per second, it is like a waterfall. Another interesting fact about this spring is that it has a constant, 7 degree Celsius temperature around the year, with variations below 1 degree. Two reservoirs are also located along Cerna, the first and biggest of them, Lake Iovanul, is breathtakingly beautiful, and the second is Lake Herculane. Lots of hiking trails await travellers, especially around Herculane Spa resort. One of them leads to the White Cross, a very attractive site, particularly due to the legends around how and when this object was placed on these rocks, which is a complete mystery. But beyond the legends, the spot has a great view over the entire Cerna Valley."
Over 2,000 ha of UNESCO-listed forests along Cerna Valley are included in the National Catalogue of Virgin and Quasi-Virgin Forests in Romania.The Park management is planning a larger-scale programme to promote this area, both by means of advertisements and on-site routes that tourists and organised groups may use in order to cross these virgin forests, which are unique in Europe. This protected area boasts over 1,100 flower species, and in terms of landscape the Domogled - Valea Cernei National Park stands out thanks to the smooth blend of karst relief and vegetation.
Mariana Păsărin explains:
"Visitors can find here the Banat Black Pine, which is specific to the Park and is actually its symbol. It is a tree growing on rocks, which makes it quite spectacular to look at. We wonder how its roots can grow and find nutrients in those rocks. Many sub-Mediterranean species also grow here, and the route to the White Cross is peppered with rare species like the smoke tree (Cotinus Coggygria), the Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna), sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Park staff are currently running a project where we create a theme route providing information for tourists on each plant species. Many other plants growing here are also unique to this area, for instance in the hot water caves there is a unique moss species. There are also lots of butterflies, nearly 45% of all the moth and butterfly species can be found in our Park. In other words, the Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park, which only accounts for 0.2% of the surface area of the country, is home to half of Romania's butterfly species. A tourist once said the area is rather jam-packed with butterflies.Of the mammal species, I'd mention the bear, the wolf, the wildcat, the lynx, lots of bats in the caves, and I should add there are over 700 caves in the Park. There are deer, foxes, rabbits, scorpions and the horned viper (vipera ammodites, a strictly protected species)."
A major tourist site on Cerna Valley, described by many as one of the wildest and most spectacular places in the country, is the Corcoaia Gorges. Its 300-m long, 100-m tall walls, which come together as close as 5 metres at ground level, represent the most beautiful form of relief on Cerna Valley.
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