Zănoagei Gorges, Bucegi Mountains

1. Camping Zănoaga (1.400 m) - Zănoagei Gorges - Scropoasa Hut (1.200 m)

Mark: blue cross // Duration: 1.5 hours

Off we go. In a few minutes the path leads us to the entrance to Zănoagei Gorges. They are 2 km long and are dug by the waters Ialomița river between the Zanoaga and Dichiu mountains. The "digging" started since the Ice Age. This objective is classified as natural monument of geomorphological importance. In total there are 46 such areas in the Bucegi Mountains.

In the Zanoagei Gorges the walls in which the Ialomita has carved its spectacular way are of crystalline and sedimentary rocks developed on Jurassic limestones, a combination that favors the formation of the gorges. This area is also home to some more special flora, including the endemic species of fescue or rarer specimens such as the shag or lily of the forest, which we will be able to read about on information boards found along our marked route. The mountain scorus is a shrub with red and orange fruits similar to poppies, but rounder, 1 -2 cm in size. On our trail we will be able to spot several such shrubs. We were not able to enjoy the beauty of the lily of the forest flowers, as they were not in bloom,

The walk through the gorge is easy and pleasant. Slowly more and more large boulders of cliffs appear in the riverbed and vegetation specific to temperate mountain forests. This translates into shade and lots of green, earthy and partly rocky path.

Shortly after entering the pier we meet a big queue of people. Here is the first crossing of the Ialomița. This is done on a bridge, suspended, installed on the site of the former fixed bridge once taken by a flood. We cross from the right to the left bank of the Ialomite.

We reach a second bridge, which was destroyed by a flood. Of necessity, an alternative bridge, improvised from logs, was created to cross the river at the water level. I don't think this solution can be used if the river comes very swollen and swirled by the rains, which rarely happens because upstream of the campsite there is a large reservoir from which the water level is regulated by pipes.

From this point until the exit of the gorge we will remain only on the right bank of the Ialomite. In the river bed we meet bigger and bigger rocks, which makes the course of the Ialomitei more involvurat, offering a spectacle of small waterfalls. We also have to overcome some boulders from time to time, the path putting us to a few small challenges. From time to time secondary paths branch off towards the valley that offer belvedere points over the waterfalls and cliffs, detours that are worth taking for the sake of immortalizing the images in photos and movies.

Although not abundant in this area, I photograph some flowers and mushrooms. If at the entrance of the trail the forest was mixed, predominantly firs and spruces, as we advance, which means that the altitude decreases, we meet mainly beeches.

After 1.5 hours we reach Scropoasa Cottage.

2. Scropoasa Hut (1.200 m) - Seven Springs Waterfall (1.250 m)

Mark: blue triangle // Duration: 15 minutes

Scropoasa Cottage it is an old wooden cottage, with a storey, with a stone arm, where, in the past, we used to serve a soup or buy a canned food, which is now closed. We find it in the same glen at the exit of Cheile Zanoagei, but sad and abandoned. Instead in the area have appeared a few other buildings with cottages. I should mention that at this end of the gorge there is a forest road that can be traveled with care and for tourists with higher guard, a road that is formed from DJ714, the winter road.

We follow the forest road that we have just entered and that will turn left and will cross on a concrete bridge the stream just before it will collect its waters in the valley. Lake Scropoasa. We take two pictures and continue on the forest because we will return to the lake in a short time. After about another 15 minutes from the Scropoasa Hut, we arrive in front of a superb painting.

We are at the base Seven Springs Waterfalls. There is also a branch that climbs above the waterfall where there is a small house, a technical point. Next to this is another fascinating picture. Several jets of water gush from a rock wall. It's a gusher and it's called Zamolxe's spring.

3. Seven Springs Waterfall (1.250 m) - Scropoasa Lake (1.200 m)

Mark: blue triangle / blue cross // Duration: 30 minutes

The basis Seven Springs Waterfall, many tourists are looking to cross the wire of the gorge and get as close as possible to the base of the waterfall to get better angles to photograph. The most spectacular setting in which you can see the waterfall in all its splendor and in its entirety is not at the base, but on the forest road.

The Seven Springs Waterfall has an interesting story. It is said that the water Seven Springs Waterfall and from Zamolxe's spring  is the purest water in Europe. Or maybe that's not the story...

"Legend has it that Zalmoxe drank water there for the first time. And for Dacian priests it was a holy place. [Scientists have confirmed the miraculous nature of the water here. The studies show that it is the purest not only in Romania, but in the whole of Europe", a TV report said.

Back to Lake Scropoasa. Lake Scropoasa is an artificial reservoir, built for the production of electricity at the Dobresti hydroelectric power plant (DB). It is quite small in area, less than 6 ha, and its maximum depth measures 15 m. To the right Scropoasa Cottage we returned to the blue cross marker, which we followed along the left bank of the lake up to the lake's tail on a bridge under which the waters squeeze as in a corset between two steep rock walls that continue the course of the Ialomița when the water is not directed entirely through pipes to the hydropower plant. Here are the spectacular Orzei Gorges, which can only be visited with special permission, as they are accessible only through a tunnel, usually closed, near the bridge.

4. Scropoasa Lake (1.200 m) - Zănoaga Camping (1.400 m)

Mark: blue cross // Duration: 1.5 hours

We'll be back at the Scropoasa Hut at Camping Zănoagaon the same road through Zănoagei Gorgesmarked with a blue cross. In the forest we almost didn't feel the welcome downpour. By the end of the trail the sun came out again.

The return journey time was comparable to that of the outward journey.