Lake Orjogoaia, Baiului Mountains

Azuga Telegondola (1.520 m) - Cazacu Saddle (1.680 m) - Ceaușoaia Saddle (1.520 m) - Petru Peak - Orjogoaia Lake (1.490 m) - Ceaușoaia Saddle (1.520 m) - Ceaușoaia Valley - Azugii Valley (1.050 m)

Access

We chose Azuga, Prahova county, as our starting point. Azuga can be reached from Bucharest and Ploiești or from Brasov on the national road DN1. To reach the entry point to the trail, from the main road, coming from Brașov, follow to the left the DC129 communal road for 3 km towards the Sorica slope and the cable car. The exit point from the trail is located 4 km upstream on the Azugii Valley, on the DC129A communal road, at the confluence of the Ceaușoaia Valley and the Azugii Valley.

About Baiului Mountains

Baiului Mountains are part of the Eastern Carpathians group, in the Curved Carpathians subgroup. They cover about 300 km². They are bounded to the west by the Prahova Valley, which separates them from the Bucegi Mountains. To the north, the last peaks separating them from the Piatra Mare Mountains are the Gârbova Mountains. To the east they end in the Doftana Valley, after which are the Grohotis Mountains. In the south they stretch as far as the village of Secăria. The maximum altitude is reached in Neamțului Peak at 1923 m, some specialists consider that the southwest-northeast oriented branch is called Neamt Mountains and is a mountain entity in its own right. The most popular ridge of the Baiului Mountains is north-south oriented and culminates in the Baiul Mare Peak at 1895 m.

Route map

(click on objectives for extended version)

Technical box

Difficulty: medium

Duration / distance: 6 hours / 18 km

Mark: red cross / unmarked

Water sources: 2 springs between Șaua Cazacu and Șaua Ceaușoaia, Valea Ceaușoaia

Minimum altitude: 1.050 m, at the finish, in Azugii Valley

Maximum altitude: 1,700 m, on Dutca Peak

Level difference: +300 m / -800 m

Remarks: difficult orientation in blizzard or fog, requires the correct identification of the unmarked route at the entrance to the forest on Ceaușoaia Valley

1. Azuga Telegondola (1,520 m) - Cazacu Saddle (1,680 m)

1 hour and 10 minutes / red cross / easy

We take the first gondola up to the crest of the Baiului Mountains. It's quite windy but clear. We start with a skyline tour: Prahova Valley, Bușteni town and Bucegi Mountains in the west; Azuga town, Azugii Valley, Susai Hut and Gârbova Mountains in the north; Postovaru Mountains and Piatra Mare Mountains, also in the north, but in the far distance. We follow the red cross on a forest road, wide, through alpine pasture, which heads south-east, slightly uphill, leaving on the left a small lake and the Urechea peak. We pass the Dutca peak and follow the contour to the Cazacu saddle with the Cazacu peak on the left. On this part of the trail we have a marvelous view of the Prahova abruptness of the Bucegi Mountains, with the peaks Vânturiș, Vârful cu Dor, Furnica, Piatra Arsă, Jepii Mari, Jepii Mici, Caraiman, Coștila, Omu and Bucșoiu. In Șaua Cazacu there is a signpost marking the branch. This is the middle of the Bușteni - Zamora - Petru-Orjogoaia - Trăisteni trail.

Azuga gondola lift

the Prahova abrupt of the Bucegi Mountains

Azuga and the Garbova Mountains in the spotlight

Posevaru Mountains

Piatra Mare Mountains

Cazacu Peak

Baiului Mountains

Jepii Mari (st), Jepii Mici, Caraiman (dr) and Busteni

a small lake

brăndușe

Cazacu saddle indicator

2. Cazacu Saddle (1,680 m) - Ceaușoaia Saddle (1,520 m)

40 minutes / red cross / easy

In the Cazacu saddle there is a Y-shaped intersection. Moving forward to the south are the peaks of Băiuțul, Baiul Micul and Baiul Mare, which we will get a better view of from this section of the trail. We turn north at a sharp angle at the start. We are still led by the red cross marker, on the contour, on the forest road. The marked trail skirts the Cazacu peak. Two small springs may be a source of fresh water. Soon enough, we head east, downhill gently. We reach the Ceaușoaia saddle, where no less than 6 paths converge. Here, too, there is a signpost indicating the direction of the main, marked road to Busteni, in the Prahova valley, and to Trăisteni, in the Doftana valley. I carefully study all the routes and identify the road we will follow on the descent.

saddle Cazacu

you can see our route

our way

prickly flower

landscape

Ceaușoaia saddle

3. Ceaușoaia Saddle (1520 m) - Petru Peak - Orjogoaia Lake (1490 m)

1 hour and 15 minutes / red cross / easy

From now on our way follows Plaiul Petru-Orjogoaia. We leave Ceaușoaia peak on the left and Petru peak on the right. The forest road, marked with a red cross, is almost flat. The wind has picked up. After 3 hours from the start, we reach the top of a caldera where Lake Orjogoaia, the target of our hike, is located. A flock of sheep watched us from the other side of the lake, or us on it. This tourist objective is also approached with bicycles, ATVs and off-road vehicles.

Ceaușoaia, the big one

Petru-Orjogoaia culmea

Denisa (13) and me

Petru-Orjogoaia culmea

to the Neamt Mountains

the shepherd and the flock of sheep

4. Orjogoaia Lake (1.490 m) - Ceaușoaia Saddle (1.520 m)

1 hour and 15 minutes / red cross / easy

Lake Orjogoaia it is a nival lake, i.e. formed in a natural snow melt and it has no drains or springs. From the lake, to the south-east descends the trail from Plaiul Petru-Orjogoaia, the one we used to come to the Doftana valley, and to the north ascends the trail that runs along the ridge of the Neamțului Mountains, the branch of trails being just before the lake. To the east, after the Doftana valley, the Grohotiș Mountains can be seen, and to the northwest, a little further away, the Ciucaș Mountains. We will stop here for 30 minutes for lunch break. We return to the Ceaușoaia saddle along the same route.

Grohotis Mountains

Ciucaș Mountains in the distance

Lake Orjogoaia

Denisa at Lake Orjogoaia

in the Ceaușoaia saddle

5. Ceaușoaia Saddle (1.520 m) - Ceaușoaia Valley - Azugii Valley (1.050 m)

1 hour 45 minutes / unmarked / medium

Next comes the most challenging part of our hike, the unmarked trail. We continue half-right, forward, towards the old Ceaușoaia hut. From the saddle you can see a second Ceaușoaia hut, half right, towards the back, which is much bigger, where there is another unmarked way down into the Azugii Valley. Our path is at first flat, forest-like and wide and follows the direction of the old sheepfold, but only until it crosses the branch of a stream, one of the two that form the Ceaușoaia valley. Immediately after the stream, we start to descend straight down the left bank and in a few minutes we are at the upper edge of the forest. Here it is important to identify and strictly follow a path that is at first vague, clearing tree branches. The attached mapy map is very accurate; beware: the trail does not appear on the Our Mountains map. From here an old logging tractor trail begins to emerge more clearly. Before the 2 strands of the brook we descend a steep but short cobbled slope and pass right through the confluence of the 2 streams on the right bank of the valley. By now the trail is very clear and turns into a logging road. With the orientation we have no more thrills, but .... what to see? Bear tracks! And not one, but dozens of them! We continue our descent, whistling and singing to announce our presence so that the bears, which had recently passed through the valley, don't get in our way. The Ceaușoaia Valley flows into the Azugii Valley, which we cross on a concrete bridge. We take the group photo at the barrier marking the end of the forest road and the end of our thrilling hike.

this way we will continue

our route from the saddle to the sheepfold

here you enter the forest

poisonous fungus

forest tractor track

short and steep slope

timber is harvested

2 more bear tracks

trees just before they color

another fresh proof from the bears

barrier at the end of the road

Azugii Valley

our group

Conclusion

Trip to Lake Orjogoaia in the Baiului Mountains is accessible to all categories of tourists. To be on the safe side, I recommend that you return by the same route as the outward journey, if you are inexperienced in correctly identifying unmarked trails in the field and reading the details on a map, or if you want to avoid the thrills of the rarely traveled roads in the bear and wild boar populated forests, whose tracks we encountered.

All the best!

Steps: