Padurea Craiului – an Experience for Everyone

You will find that the Craiului Forest Mountains are a real refuge in nature

Daniel Onea, 23.05.2024, 13:37

Thematic paths and hiking trails, caves, mountain running or biking trails, traditional food, these are just some of the ingredients of an unforgettable vacation. With family, friends or colleagues, for relaxation or adventure, you will find that the Craiului Forest Mountains are a real refuge in nature. Today we discover a place that many say has the most diverse offer of experiences in nature in Romania. A vacation here is recommended for the whole family, says Paul Iacobaș, manager of the Pădurea Craiului ecotourism destination.

“It’s a destination that puts adventure and outdoor exercise first, for all categories of people who want to do it, from families with children, from young couples to older people. In the area, you will find a well-established infrastructure, trails, certified tour guides, and a high-performance mountain rescue service that covers the entire area. Here we find ten mountain jogging routes, marked and described, 18 hiking routes of various degrees of difficulty, seven Via Ferrata routes, a rafting course, nine speotourist caves, several hundred kilometers of marked and described cycling routes, and four tourist caves. We could say that the caves are the coat of arms of the Craiului Forest.”

In the Piatra Craiului Mountains, many excursions are organized in nature and with care for nature. They are called ecotours and emphasize observing and appreciating nature and local traditions. For example, here we can discover the Crișul Repede Gorge by bicycle. This adventure lasts three days. You will have relaxation, but also spectacular landscapes. The distance traveled by bicycle is between 25 and 35 kilometers per day. And it is not the only offer, as we learn from Paul Iacobaș, the manager of the Pădurea Craiului ecotourism destination. “An ecotour that was very successful started on Thursday. Tourists usually came from the airports of Oradea, Cluj or even Debrețin, from Hungary, from there they were transferred to the Craiului Forest, having a series of activities that lasted until Sunday. They had a bike ride, visiting some touristic caves. Then they took their cave equipment and explored a speotourist cave. This is a slightly more technical cave, and is visited under the guidance of a specialized guide. They also covered an easy Via Ferrata route and hiked in the area. All this in almost four days. They stayed at a local guesthouse, where they ate food made by the local housewives, and where they had a very beautiful view of the Craiului Forest. They were enjoying beautiful sunsets.”

There are still a few craftsmen in the area who practice their craft with great passion. First of all, we should mention the white ceramic pottery from Vadul Crișului.

“This, once fired, becomes almost like white porcelain, due to the fact that it does not have iron oxides in the clay from which it is made. It is adorned with some very old traditional motifs with deep meanings. Then, we discuss the engraved eggs from Drăgoteni. It’s a craft that is at its peak at Easter. There is even a festival and an egg-engraving contest. The technique is a little different from other areas of Romania. Then there is the craft of making the horn violin. The horn violin is a hybrid instrument that combines the classical body of a violin with strings and a bow, but to which, in order to amplify its sound, a kind of trumpet is attached, made of a material that emits some very loud sounds. It’s a real spectacle to hear it. There would also be the traditional occupations that take place in every season, from mowing the hay to plowing and working the land, often things that are still done by hand. This gives charm to the cultural landscape of Craiului Forest, which is a mosaic of forests, meadows and pastures.”

As for the tourist attractions in the Pădurea Craiului Mountains, they are represented by karst, both surface, like gorges, and underground karst caves. The tourist caves in the Pădurea Craiului Mountains are among the most interesting in the Apuseni mountains and, certainly, the most accessible, says Paul Iacobaș, the manager of this ecotourism destination.

“I would first mention the Meziadului Cave, one of the most beautifully decorated, and with an impressive interior development of the galleries. There is also the only natural underground bridge in Romania that can be crossed by anyone, being set up for tourists. I would also mention the Farcu Mine Crystal Cave. It is one of the few caves in the world where there are calcite crystals, and which, again, is set up for visitors. In addition, in this cave, even if it is very small, the access is through an old mine gallery. Basically, the visit combines visiting an old mine with visiting a cave. Even if I mention it in the last row, but maybe it is not necessarily in the third place, the Crișul Repede Gorge is a very picturesque area. It is in the form of a gorge dug by the waters of Crișului Repede in the limestone. In addition to the fact that there is a multitude of rocky and limestone formations, there are fish, and there is a beautiful waterfall, and the vegetation there is special, the area being declared a mixed reserve, which combines natural and geological elements.”

Discovering the beauty and mystery of a fragment from the deep world can change your perception of the outside world. Tourists leave with this impression after an experience in the Piatra Craiului Mountains.

“First of all, the area is visited by Romanians, but also by expats who come from Western European countries, as well as many Hungarians, Poles, Czechs and Germans. People were impressed by the fact that this is a relatively small area, but in which many attractions and experiences in nature are concentrated, and which still has a living tradition. If until now we have worked a lot on infrastructure, development of experiences, and activities in nature, now we are working on putting these elements together in some tourist packages that will make the area attractive and more visible on a national and international level, and especially to keep the tourists in the area for more than a few days, to have a real stay of five, maybe even up to seven days, because they have a lot to see, especially since the area is very close to two very beautiful cities of Romania. We are referring here to Oradea, which is the Art Nouveau capital of Romania, and Cluj-Napoca.”

On the page of the ecotourism destination, padureacraiului.ro, you will discover complete information on all tourist experiences, both on the surface and underground.