The Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park

Today we are headed to the southwest of Romania, to the Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park

Daniel Onea, 18.08.2022, 14:00

Today we are headed to the southwest of Romania, to the Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park. Here we find 11 nature reserves, and 65,000 ha of virgin forest, which in 2016 became a part of the UNESCO world heritage fund. Here we can find a rare sequoia tree, with a circumference of 5.7 m, with an estimated age of 200 years. We talked about the parks attractions with Nicolae Ifca, director of administration for the Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park:

“The park is in the southwest of Romania, in the center of Caras Severin county. It has a surface of 36,000 ha, and is in the north of Anina Mountains, and the east of Semenic Mountains. In the park we have nine tourist trails, with a total of 130 km. Along the trails we find many points of interest. For instance, the trail to visit the Caras Gorges starts in Crasova, and crosses a portion of 6 km of them, then continues to the Comarnic Cave. It is in the middle of the park, at the intersection of several trails. This is one of our main objectives. In 2021 we had the most visitors. Moving on, we can go in several directions, towards Semenic or Buhui Lake. Another point on the trail is Marghitar Lake. It is not a very big lake, it has about 3 ha. By comparison, Buhui Lake is much larger, and was built after the year 1900. There we have a thematic trail showcasing species of trees and other flora.”

In the Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park we find two mountain units, according to Nicolae Ifca:

“The Semenic Mountains represent about 54%, and the Anina Mountains occupy 46% of the territory, and are the Karst area of the park. In the Semenic mountains we find the most compact beech forest in Europe. It is the virgin forest of the Nera Springs. With a surface of 6,000 ha, it is the largest virgin or quasi-virgin forest in Europe. Here, in the central area, we can find trees with ages of up to 500 years. The forest can be visited accompanied by a management representative. The trail is about 14 km long.”

In the western part of the park we have the Anina Mountains. Here, the most popular objective with tourists is the Comarnic Cave. Nicolae Ifca told us about it:

“The cave is 6 km long, of which 1.7 km are open to visitors. It is a nature reserve. It is available to visit through an inactive gallery. Here we can meet all sorts of interesting formations: stalactites, stalagmites, columns, all sorts of bizarre shape formations. In fact, in Anina Mountains we have a number of 803 caves and sinkholes. A cave is horizontal, a sinkhole is vertical. The longest cave in the Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park is the Buhui Cave, with a total length of around 6,500 m. It is a cave reservations, and the deepest sinkhole is Poiana Gropii, with a depth of 240 m.”

In the park you can find a 16 km trail for biking or walking, practicable by all ages. Nicolae Ifca described it for us:

“This trails starts in Resita, and goes to Comarnic Cave. Along the trail we have a few objectives and tourist stopovers, where we set up information panels about the areas and about the waterfalls. About one km before reaching Comarnic Cave we find the Sumrak Waterfall, formed by limestone deposits. Here, cyclists can go on 4 more km to reach one of the most impressive trees of the park, a Sequoia Dendrum Gigantea. It is not known how it got here, someone definitely brought it here, because it is a tree species from California. The tree has thrived here, at an altitude of 600 meters. Right now it is 45 m tall, a circumference of 5.7 m, and a diameter of 1.80 m.”

The Semenic- Cheile Carasului Park administration provides guides for seven tourist programs in the protected area. The guides are the park rangers, who know the area very well, and can offer all sorts of information about the local history and culture, about the flora and the fauna, and the ecosystem. A guided tour costs about 14 Euro. Director Nicolae Ifca recommends that tourists get information ahead of time on the objectives and on the weather:

“Through the centers of tourism information centers in localities, we distribute informative material, such as maps and fliers with information on objectives. Irrespective of which side of the park you come in, I recommend you hit one of these centers. You can also visit the park website. The administration is available to all the tourists who want to visit the caves and the forests, and is eagerly awaiting them.”