Drăgan Valley

Drăgan Valley

We always meet the most beautiful landscapes near lakes. Drăgan Valley is bordered by three geographical units: Vladeasa Mountains, Meseş Mountains and Huedin Depression. The name of Drăgan Valley it’s not just for an area but it’s also the name of a village that belongs to Poieni commune.

Only 65 km from Cluj-Napoca and 80 km from Oradea, the Drăgan River crosses the mountains and the above-mentioned depression in order to form, together with the Sebeșel River, the Drăgan Lake. This lake was formed due to the erection of a 120 m high dam, which has a crest opening of 422 m. After the construction of the dam, the area earned a special charm, being often chosen for the weekend getaways of the people that live in Cluj-Napoca and beyond.

Going through these areas you don’t know what is more important, the destination or the trip itself, because the mountain landscape, nature and the whole road come to seduce you, regardless of the season. The winding road to the dam leads us through the heart of the forests and hypnotize us with the beautiful landscapes that are part of the Apuseni Mountains treasure chest .

The area reveals its riches as soon as we leave the village of Drăgan Valley, in front of us rising the forested ridges, the mountain landscapes that take your breath away, so that, in the end, everything is crowned with the image of a great and peaceful lake.

And if all this seems insufficient, near Dragan Valley, also within Poieni commune, there is the Bologa Fortress.

Răcătău Gorge

O imagine pitorească din Defileul Răcătăului, prezentând dealuri împădurite și pajiști verzi, sub un cer albastru cu nori pufoși.

The mountains always offer us the most spectacular landscapes, and if in some gorges from Cluj county tourists arrive easily, the Răcătău Gorge is opened only for people who are really eager for an adventure in a place where time has stopped for a while.

Răcătău Valley, the one that separates Măguri Răcătău commune from Mărișel commune, is the author of one of the deepest gorges in the Apuseni Mountains. Due to this valley, appeared the “Kingdom of Zamolxe” or “The Land of Zamolxe” as the moti (inhabitants of Motilor Land) call it.

In order to understand the legends related to these lands, we have to mention the fact that our ancestors, the Geto-Dacians, had a supreme god called Zamolxe or Zamolxis. Obviously, various stories are linked to this name, but the most important thing is that Zamolxis was a very erudite priest whom the Dacians worshiped and considered a great god. Zamolxis, considered the Dacians supreme divinity, was one of the fabulous Antiquity characters.

Legend has it that in this place, in the Răcătău Gorge, Zamolxis hid for seven days, from the whole human breath. There is a place called “altar”, the older locals call it “the stairs”. It has very large rocks, which, viewed from a certain angle, show profiles of men in stone. It was said that if you go there and stand facing the rocks and focus very hard, you summon Zamolxis, and this god fulfills the desires you have in those moments.

The gorge has no trace of roads or paths, tourists having to walk from stone to stone, sometimes even through the water. The lower area of ​​the gorge is the most special, due to the rock walls and lush vegetation, the Răcătău Gorge has become the ideal habitat for brown bears. The probability of meeting these animals in your walks is extremely high, because the bear reservation is very vast.

The great rock that dominates the whole area is called Țâcla Gabrii and is the most spectacular place from where you can admire both the villages of Mărișel and Măguri. The narrow paths, winding among pine trees and boulders lead us to the heart of these rare-shaped rocks.

The silence, the wilderness and the imposing forests that dominate the Răcătău Gorge are an oasis of peace at 2 hours away from Cluj. The wonders of the Apuseni Mountains are famous for their peculiarity, and every corner is worth taking a thorough walk and discovered.

Someşul Rece Pass

O imagine din Defileul Someșului Rece, arătând un peisaj montan cu stânci abrupte, vegetație deasă și un râu care curge printre pietre.

In the South-West part of Cluj, a narrow road in the heart of the mountains leads us to the wonders of Măguri Răcătău commune, more precisely to the Someșul Rece Gorge. Going through these areas you don’t know what is more important, the destination or the trip itself, because the mountain landscape, nature and the whole road come to seduce you, regardless of the season.

We start from Cluj towards Gilău, Someșu Rece and then Măguri Răcătău commune on the 107T county road. For a walk in the true sense of the word, we can park the car and walk that road to the Someșul Rece dam. As mentioned above, the landscape is perfect regardless of the season, and the journey itself is the one we must truely enjoy, whether we reach the dam or not.

Taking a walk in a slow rhythm, the round trip can be covered in 4-5 hours, but we can guarantee that it is worth every minute spent in the mountain air of Măguri Răcătău commune. In the summer days, on the road leading to the Gorge, there is no lack of hay smell, the horses left free in the village or the villagers who are delighted to be asked about the wonders of the place. Between Gura Negruței and La Luncuța, the Someșul Rece river forms a deep and wild gorge, crossed by a forest road, at the upper end of which is the Someşul Rece dam.

On the rocky slopes we can find either trees, grown as if to defy nature, or short mountaineering trails. Someșul Rece Gorge is one of the most protected areas of Cluj County and due to this fact, wild animals are not a rarity in these forests of pine trees and spruces. And as the details always make the difference, with little attention we can see how some trees have taken some strange shapes, due to the wind and low temperatures in those areas. They have learned to adapt in the harshest conditions, the struggle for survival being a way of living in these places. During the summer, the green of different intensities steals our eyes, but when the snow comes and the temperatures drop, this place turns into an enchanting winter landscape.

During the Second World War, this area was considered one of strategic importance, as well as the rest of the mountains in the Cluj area where various hiding places were prepared but also extremely strategically located places of attack. Since those times, it has remained a paved road known as “Antonescu’s road”, which connects Măguri Răcătău to Valea Ierii. Nowadays, in peacetime, this road has lost its military importance, being crossed only by tourists or used in sports competitions.

Borzeşti Gorge

Cheile Borzestilor

In order for the traveler’s holiday diary on the lands of Cluj County to be complete, he has to cross, by foot, this splendid place which is only 5 km away from the Turzii Gorge. The Cluj richness consists in the small places dug in the heart of the mountains, such as the Borzeşti Gorge. Due to it’s special charm and the landscapes that captivate you, they can be easily included in the Transylvania’s treasure chest. With the popular name of Borzești Gorge, they have been declared natural reservation since 1994.

Because an intact preservation of these treasures was desired, the access is made only on foot, no car trace is allowed to disturb a perfectly preserved place, as only mother nature can make. We can get here both from Turda and from Câmpeni, Alba county, on the 75 national road. If we start from Turda, the milestone will show us another 4 km to the Buru village and that is the moment when we have to stop at the shed with the same name. There, an improvised parking lot awaits us, close to the natural gate that opens the way to the Borzeşti Gorge reservation.

After the first steps, a corner of heaven opens, in which we can easily see that time seems to have stopped. With a wildness look, forests without any meaning, narrow paths on the bed of a valley that, being far from the viewer’s eyes carved freely these gorges. On our way to Borzeşti Gorge we meet many waterfalls, places where we can stop to listen the noise of the waters but also the songs of the birds that live in that forest away from human eyes.

The defile has the appearance of gorge, hence the popular name of Borzești Gorge, with forested slopes, which is why the flora is well represented by the beech forest mixed with sessile oak and plants characteristic to forest habitats and rocks. Forests provide good living conditions for many mammals, but also for many bird species, reptiles and insects.

The Borzești Gorge were created millions of years ago, being the exclusive work of the Borzești Valley, a valley that flows into the Arieș River between the villages of Buru and Moldovenești. Their uniqueness consists in the fact that they are the only Gorges from the great family of the Apuseni, which the water carved out in two directions, both to the north and to the south. The Arieș River, which captures the water that flows through these gorges, also played an important role. Once its deepening, it began to capture the nearby waters, and this fact led to the creation of waterfalls that today delight our eyes.

If hiking is something normal for you, we recommend that you do not choose the paths trodden by the visitors steps, but follow the water’s edge. Of course, with proper equipment, without fear of getting wet and most importantly, on a day in the less rainy season, so that the flow of the valley wouldn’t be high.

What do you need to have with you for a thorough exploration?

Well, the equipment mentioned above, a good physical condition, a camera and the confidence that at the end it is always the most beautiful part.

Why do we say that?

Because at the beginning it opens, for the traveler’s eyes, the part that includes the Lower Waterfalls, wonderful and spectacular, but then follows a dull, dark part, with small gorges too little lit by the sun, because the rocks block the light. After about 30 minutes of hiking through the beauties of nature, we reach the large waterfall, part of the Upper Waterfalls. It’s not a fast waterfall. Here the water has a light flow time, without being rushed by a high and noisy flow, proof of the fact that the formation of these gorges was done slowly and thoroughly without missing the details that really matter.

Even if you choose the marked paths, the official ones, the forest paths reveal to you the wildness of the place and the special charm which the Apuseni Mountains are famous for.

The Borzeşti Gorge is the ideal place to contemplate nature and to offer you a landscape detached from the much loved fairy tales of childhood.

Baciu Gorge

O imagine din Cheile Baciului, prezentând un peisaj liniștit cu pajiști verzi și copaci, sub un cer senin.

Another protected area of ​​national interest, located a stone’s throw from Cluj-Napoca, are Baciu Gorge. They occupy an area of ​​about 3 hectares in the north part of Hoia Forest, the famous forest where unusual phenomena are supposed to take place but also whose load of mystery and paranormal attracts hundreds of tourists every year eager to discover the uniqueness of the place.

These gorges are surrounded by trees with special shapes that are part of the enigmatic attraction of Hoia Forest. And as the history of these limestones has its roots in the Eocene era, according to the Baciu commune documentation, the natural reservation formed after the excavation, over thousands of centuries, of those Eocene limestones by the Valea Lungă and Valea Popești streams, has a special geological, paleontological and botanical importance. Each part described above has its charm due to features such as geological – limestone cliffs, rocks, paleontological – fossil deposits, botanical or floristical – mixed forests, meadow vegetation and rocks.

Although the reservation is spread over a large part of the Hoia Forest territory , Baciu Gorge covers only 500 meters, with asymmetrical slopes. The southern part, which catches our attention from the first step, is a mixture of forests, grasses and rocky vegetation, arranged in a strange way, which leads many to consider that they are evidence of a supernatural presence. The northern part is rocky and steep, with the presence of fossil deposits and also perfect for small escalates for climbing enthusiasts.

Baciu Gorge is an oasis of peace that you can enjoy after only 10 minutes of driving. It was decided to keep this area as natural as possible, in order to remain a trace of wildlife close to the heart of the city and to always be an option for an escape from the exhausting environment of the urban jungle. Landscapes are a combination of wild and supernatural. Being a reservation very little touched by people’s hands, it never ceases to surprise you. Upstream of Baciu Gorge, at the edge of the forest, where only tireless hikers get, there is a small natural lake, not too deep, but which is like the icing on the traveler’s cake.

Tureni Gorge

O imagine panoramică a Cheilor Turenilor, evidențiind serpentinele drumului și vegetația bogată ce acoperă dealurile.

Between Tureni and Copăceni villages, at a stone’s throw from the urban jungle, we can admire the wilderness of Tureni Gorge. Parallel with the Turzii Gorge, once part of the same rocky heritage dulled by time, the protected area of ​​Tureni Gorge captivates you due to it’s wild and deserted rocky landscape.

The Trăscăului Mountains, famous for their karst relief, shelter no less than 22 gorges, among which is also Tureni Gorge. It is a huge limestone rock, which was pierced by the Racilor Valley to the north, a valley that over time came to carve every rock’s corner so that we can enjoy a fairytale landscape.

The Turului Gorge, as the locals call it, are about 2 km long, but unlike the Turzii Gorge, these can be crossed both along the water and on the crest. If you choose the option to go along the water, the further you go towards the tightness of the rocks, the more waterproof your shoes must be, but also the route becomes more difficult.

For those who want to climb, these young rocks are a good start, because they are not very high and do not require much physical effort.

Although they seem crowded, if we look from the panoramic plateau, the limestone walls of the gorges hide around 29 caves. The landscapes are not defined only by the corroded rocks of rainy years or strong winds, inside the gorges we find many rapids of water and small waterfalls of about 1 meter perfect for a long exposure picture.

This area has little human touch and precisely because of this we can enjoy a wild but soothing landscape, walks through hornbeam forests, among hazelnut trees, poppy trees, hawthorn trees and other childhood fruit trees. Even if it doesn’t seem like a favorable environment, beauties are always hidden in hard to reach places. This happens also with the White Rock Carnation.

If the birds of prey have nests on the plateau above the Tureni Gorge, the fauna inside the gorges is home to numerous insects and amphibians such as the marsh bunting (Botaurus Stellaris) and the transylvanian newt.

The plateau of Tureni Gorge and even the indomitable forests are the perfect place for weekend getaways, climbing and even for taking impressive photos.

Turda Gorge

Cheile Turzii oferă un peisaj spectaculos, cu stânci abrupte și vegetație densă, un loc ideal pentru drumeții și explorări.

Just 40 kilometres away from Cluj-Napoca, the Turda Gorge are a rocky representation, dating back thousands of years and yet in a continuous change due to the river’s corrosion process.

They are part of the Trăscăului Mountains group, which are limited to the south by the Ampoiului Valley, separating them, to the north, by the Metaliferi Mountains and the Cluj Hills and to the west by the Gilău Massif – Muntele Mare. Apparently separated by them, through the Arieș Valley, the Turda Gorge are located in the eastern extremity of the Apuseni Mountains, in the extension of the Râmeți-Bedeleu-Ciumerna peak, a calcareous peak of Jurassic origin.

The Trăscăului Mountains, famous for their karst relief, are home to no less than 22 gorges, including the Turda Gorges.

It is most likely that during the Jurassic, the great predators walked on these lands, but the traces were left by the valley that today we believe is harmlessly small, that of the Hajdate. This was the main artist, of course helped by time, of the rocky passage with a length of 1270 m, which divides the geological structure of Turda Gorge into two massifs, the Monastery Peak and the Sandul Hill. Once pierced by the Hăjdate valley, being a skilled and meticulous carver, the phenomenon of crossing the valley water led to the formation of the highest vertical walls in the Apuseni Mountains, with an expansion of approx. 250 m.

The representation shaped in the rocks, over the years, offers us today the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of karst relief forms.

Arriving on the Cheia village plateau, a place where the irregular slopes reveal itself as a giant, passed through weather and time, we can easily see the transition from the smooth paths to steep walls, from rocks to gravel and even abundant vegetation. Entering the heart of the gorges, over 60 erosion caves are revealed to us, on the edge of the Hăjdate valley.

The entrance into the Gorges is made from the Turda Gorge Chalet, the path opens the way to the wild world at the foot of the two slopes. Here we discover slopes covered with vegetation, patches of forest and a flora that includes over 1000 floristic species. White carnation, thymes and motley tulip are some of the most common plants found in the Turda Gorge.

As we advance, the path becomes narrower, slipping parallel to the valley, some parts of the passage being formed directly in the rock. Near the Zurusului Long gravel, on the right slope, we find the only fountain with permanent flow from inside the gorges, Șipot Gorge, fed by the rainwater that accumulates under the Zurusului Fortress gravel.

Slopes, characterized by distinct limestone plates, host many caves, the longest cavity being the Hungarian Cave. Due to the small amounts of infiltrated water, the caves being mostly dry, have favored human habitat since prehistory. If thousands of years ago caves were inhabited by prehistoric people, today they are populated by the multitude of bat species.

In the Turda Gorge natural reservation we find many species of fish (spined loach, chub), amphibians and reptiles (marsh bunting – Botaurus Stellaris, crested newt, common viper), birds (nightingale, woodpecker), all living in a harmony that only nature can create.

The Turda Gorge has a unique character, namely because they can be crossed both at the valley level and above the high slopes, at a height of 300 – 350 m. For experienced tourists or for those accompanied by mountain guides, these gorges offer the route of Via Ferrata. With suitable equipment for climbing, non-stick shoes and sport pants for easy mobility, Via Ferrata runs vertically with a fixed metal cable, at level difference of 200 m height. Although it is a demanding route, the extraordinary view that is revealed to the audience is fascinating. It is very important to mention that the Salvamont team from Turda Gorge provide you with information about this route. You have to know and understand that the route is not an easy place, and the crossing time is over 3 hours.

For those who are not passionate about extreme sports and want to enjoy a simple walk through Turda Gorges, we mention that you can enjoy observing the Birdwatching phenomenon. Thus you can notice the over 60 bird species that live in this reservation.

Website: www.turism-cheile-turzii.ro

Statue of Avram Iancu, Turda

Statuia lui Avram Iancu din Turda, amplasată în centrul orașului, onorează eroul național al românilor transilvănen

How we arrive

The statue of Avram Iancu (1824-1872), the leader of the Romanian revolution from 1848 from Transylvania is found in the centre of Turda city from 1998. The statue was made by the sculptor Ilarion Voinea and it was uncovered with the occasion of celebrating 150 years from the revolution from 1848.

The Grave of Michael the Brave, Turda

Mormântul lui Mihai Viteazul de la Turda, loc de pelerinaj ce onorează memoria marelui voievod al unirii.

How we arrive

On August 16, 1601, on the plateau rising south of Turda city, Michael the Brave (1558-1601) was assassinated, the first Romanian voivode who managed for several months the first political unification of the Romanian principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. In his memory, on the place where, according to historical accounts, was the voivode’s first tomb, a monument was built in 1977. The obelisk was made of concrete, covered with travertine and has a symbolic height of 1601 cm. The monument has three sides, each symbolizing one of the three Romanian principalities, at its base being placed the three coats of arms of the principalities made of marble by the Cluj artist Vasile Rus Batin.

Bust of Alexandru Ioan Cuza

In front of the Prefecture Palace, on the Northern side of Avram Iancu Square, it is located the bust of the prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866). His era marks the reunion under one state of the Romanian principalities Wallachia and Moldavia and represents the first stage from the modern Romanian history which generated the formation of the Romanian unitary stat.