Romania’s beautiful mountain scenery

The Calimani National Park

Daniel Onea, 10.03.2022, 14:00

Today we’re heading towards the Calimani Nature Park in northern
Romania, an asset where tourists are welcomed with a very generous offer. In
winter, the ski touring is practiced, while in the summer you can go hiking for
fauna-watching purposes. Moreover, since 2013, the administration of the park has
opened a modern visiting center where educational exhibitions are mounted,
promoting the tourist assets of the region. It is also here that the products
are presented, manufactured by local craftsmen. Then you can take up a theme
pathway, especially arranged for a two-hour journey in the invisible world of
the Saru Dornei Tinov. Liviu Hutanu is Calimani National Park’s tourism activities
official.

Liviu Hutanu:

It is one of the Calimani Massif’s
protected areas, encompassing the upper third part of the Calimani Mountains. It
has been declared a protected area since 2000. Here we protect numerous species
of plants and animals, their habitats. We have been trying, to the best of our
abilities, and in addition to the preservation activities, to develop long-lasting
tourism or ecotourism, to use a trendier term. It would be unfair for us to block
access to so many natural assets. The purpose of a natural park is preservation,
but also the promotion of tourism in a given area, yet that is being done without
affecting the preservation part of our work.

Ski touring through the snow can provide unforgettable
experiences. In the company of a park ranger specializing in the observation and
interpretation of nature, you’re highly likely to discover traces of wild
animals, you will be initiated in the secrets of the life and habits of the beasts
in the forest. The route will be selected taking into account the timeframe the
tourists opted for and in keeping with the weather conditions, over
December-May. It roughly takes a seven-hour hike to carry the program, which
also includes a rest break and a traditional snack. The fee for that starts from
120 Lei and varies, in keeping with the number of people participating.

Liviu Hutanu:

We have more than 120 kilometers of
tourist routes. We also have two theme pathways: the theme pathway of the 12 Apostles
and the one in the former Calimani Sulphur exploitation. We have a marathon
route, Via Maria Terezia, of which one third stretches
along the protected area. Camping sites have been arranged, in the strategic
points, near springs, we also have three tourist shelters. Actually, the
tourist infrastructure has been properly taken care of and appropriately marked,
especially for backpacking hikers. Therefore, we promote the non-polluting and
environment-friendly activities..

But what are the most important tourist objectives in
the Calimani Nature Park?

Liviu
Hutanu:

The most-often visited
such asset, which is also the most beautiful one, which is also included on our
logo, is the 12 Apostles Nature Reserve. Here you can find a cluster of rocks,
of various shapes which, in time, have been given all sorts of names, stirring
visitors’ imagination. We have, among others, The Marshall, Nefertiti, the Lion.
Of these rocks, the one standing out and which is the most photographed, is
named The Old Man. It is a big rock, 30, 40 meters tall, which, if viewed from
three different angles, has the face of an old man. Most of the times it has
been compared to the Sphynx in the Bucegi Mountains. It is a natural asset, but
we also have an anthropic tourist asset. It is the Sulphur pit. It was opened
in 1976. Thanks to the excavations there, since the Calimani Mountains are
volcanic mountains, a cross-cut section could be created, of a volcanic cone. We
can thus have the chance to see how the inside of a volcano looks like. It is
something almost unique in Europe.

Every hiking activity should begin from an information
point. Here is Calimani Nature Park’s tourism activities official, Liviu Hutanu,
speaking about that.

Available for tourists is the Calimani
National Park Visiting Centre as well as the other information points, with our
park rangers being always there. The visiting center is one of the main attractions
of the Dorna Country eco-tourism destination. The ecotourism destination
certification was granted four years ago by the Tourism Ministry. The center
has been thought out in a bid to enhance the destination’s attractiveness, but
also with a view to increasing the park’s capacity to secure an accessible communication
with the visitors. The latter are being kept abreast of the hiking routes, tourist
assets, or the restrictions that are in place in a national park. Here tourists
can find an educational exhibition focusing on the assets of the park, there is
also a corner of the items hand-crafted by the locals. In the courtyard, a
theme hiking route has been arranged, along which the area’s craftsmanship
activities are presented. The Saru Dornei Tinov Reserve can be found close by.

For the near future, the Calimani National Park Administration
has been carrying a couple of projects which are ongoing. Liviu Hutanu once again.

We intend to set up a research center
in the former Sulphur exploitation. We also want the center to be a Salvamont,
Mountain Rescue Service basecamp. We also want several children’s playgrounds
to be set up there, for the holiday camps we have in the region. On the
territory f the park, as we speak, we have only one mountain biking trail and
we intend to create two more such trails. We welcome all to come visit us, from
the bottom of our hearts. Those who would like to visit us need to know the
Calimani Mountains are not very steep, the trails are relatively easy to take
and even accessible for families with children. The scenery is unaltered and we
have hundreds of hectares of primary forests. We brag about the fact that you
can walk around the park for three, maybe four days without meeting other human
beings. So, for all those who want to live a wildlife experience, which is at
once accessible, the Calimani Nature park is one of the best options for them.

The invitation has been launched, In the hopes that we have
talked you into visiting the Calimani Nature Park, next time we’re waiting for
you with a new tourist destination.

(EN)