Diham Chalet, Bucegi Mountains

1. Azuga Train Station (930) - Greek Peak - Greek Saddle (1385)

2 hours / medium / yellow triangle

Photo Race Azuga and behind it the Grecului ridge, the one we are heading towards, this time meaning me and my father (77). Since there is no signpost right at the station, it is important to start on the road parallel to the railway in the direction of Brasov and soon you will find the first signpost with detailed explanations and the yellow triangle marking, our guide on the first part of the route up to Diham Cottage. In sources other than the attached image, the duration is mentioned as 3 hours, which is closer to reality, not that the route could not be covered in 2 hours, but that maybe by those with a fast pace and on the path not covered by snow or ice. Rather medium difficulty or either easy/medium.

The road continues a little further between the Prahova river and the railroad, and soon we cross the Prahova on an almost destroyed bridge at the confluence with the Grecului stream, a right tributary, so we turn left. But here we meet a more realistic estimate of the time we'll have to travel. We've pretty much leveled it, let's go!

On the map / Our Mountains app you will find 2 trails marked with a yellow triangle that go somewhat in parallel, one on the valley, the other more "hilly". In the field there is only the second variant. We would have chosen this one anyway. There is the arrow visible on the trees and the path is like a forest road that suddenly changes direction to the right and starts to climb. The steepness of the slope is cut by the serpentines of the trail. There are also numerous short cuts, for those who want to tackle the trail more gently.

We make little stops to catch our breath, and this occasion brings a marvel of a hemlock into our perimeter of vision. Surprising, ciuta he stood still even though he saw us. We were staring at each other. Must have been 100 feet away.

The first part of the ascent is more demanding, then the slope gets smoother, there are some nice lighting and some nice shots, like .... Needles of Morarului. We also shoot a natural staircase made of jasper grown on a tall and straight beech. We're on a less traveled path to Diham, which had me whistling a lot on the trail. A beautiful woodland with a few palms of forget-me-not poppies through the slightly brighter spots and a path just as we wanted.

After 1,5 hours from the train station, we reach the ridge and meet the blue band marker coming from Predeal near the mountain hunters unit via the Leuca Mare peak. Immediately we exit above the forest border in The Greek Wadi. It's two and a bit hours from the start, but we took our time.

2. Greek Saddle (1385) - Leuca Mica Peak (1448) - Baiului Saddle (1363)

45 min / easy / yellow triangle

In Greek Saddle we have a wonderful view. To the east Baiului Mountains in the opposite direction from the way we came up, westwards Greek Peak (1423) in the leeg of the path (you can climb it for an even better view, but I suggest the next peak), and in front of it a part of the Prahova's abrupt Bucegilor. Follow Greek perspective video on the following link. The trail continues on the contour to the right of the summit. Magura Codlei and Postavarul appear in the right field of view.

After following the very gently ascending ridge, we go a little further into the forest and here we come out into another alpine void ahead Leuca Peak Little Leuca (1446)The highest point of our tour. The marked trail goes around the summit on the contour to the left. I climbed the summit to give myself a view that now includes Piatra Mare Massif. The Baiului Baiului and the greatness of the Buceg cliffs remain in sight. We are counting all the peaks of the eastern end of the massif: Furnica, Piatra Arsa, Jepii Mari, Jepii Mici, Caraimanul, Costila, Morarul with its Colti and Bucsoiul, which wants to hide with its height Omu Peak (2505 m), the highest peak in the Bucegi Mountains.

The marked and unmarked paths meet again on the other side of the Leuca Mica near a property in Baiului Saddle. This spot next to the fence of the villa should be remembered as it will be an important landmark on the descent. We go around the property on the path marked on the left (here we already have 3 markers, the red triangle has been added). We head towards the 2 aerials located in the wide and wet meadow that opens up (the markers to cross the meadow are missing). We are at an important trail junction in Baiului Saddle.

3. Șaua Baiului (1363) - Diham Hut (1320) - Șaua Baiului (1363)

2 x 30 min / easy / yellow triangle

We are in Baiului Saddle. From the left comes the path that climbs from Busteni via Poiana Izvoarelor, and from the right the forest road, which is passable with care with slightly taller cars, which starts from DN73A via Cabana Steaua (Forban) and continues together with our route to Diham. The indicator shows us another 30 minutes to Diham Cottage.

From the start of the climb up to here we had no water source. All the way to Diham Cottage is one way. By now the trail is well populated with tourists, including children. On the right, we pass a dilapidated building and then a stable. More and more purple branduses appear in the grass mats, and from the left two sparkling water springs descend in steps, possible sources of water when needed.

We stop on a pass 5 minutes before the Diham Hut.

We break for lunch next to a sheepdog. We admire once again Bucegii, the extremity of Pietrei Craiului, Rasnovului Depression, Magura Codlei, Postavaru and Piatra Mare.

After a longer break, we returned to the Baiului Saddle on the same route we came on. on this section of the route there are 3 different markers running parallel.

4. Șaua Baiului (1363) - Hell Valley - the confluence of Hell Valley and Lions Valley (1110)

1 hour / easy (if done in reverse, the climb is medium) / red triangle

Important branching, no signaling indicator! Five minutes after Baiului SaddleAt the fence of the property that I mentioned on the way up, we make 90 degrees left from how we came right next to the property fence and somewhere below we see the first marker at the edge of the forest red triangle.

Once we reach the first marked tree, we see the second one and so on. The path is not very clear. In fact, we orient ourselves a little because the marker puts us in a difficult to penetrate hatis. We're soon on the right bank of the The Valley of Hell. I imagine even more complicated is the reverse orientation, when climbing from the valley into the saddle, because even there the change of direction is not evident where you leave the valley to climb up the slope.

We will continue downhill steadily more and more gentle as the altitude decreases and as we get closer to the valley line. The Iad flows quickly in small waterfalls, gathers a small tributary on the left, .... still downhill, still downhill until we enter a more muddy area. More and more mountain flowers enchant us but we don't pick them because we know that their life is there with their roots in the ground. On Hell Valley about to dive into Lions Valley is a small dam and a deserted building. We come to Hell's Spill in Lions Valley.

5. The confluence of the Valley of Hell and the Valley of Lions (1110) - Leucii Valley - DN1

1 hour / easy / red triangle

After an almost destroyed bridge, a wide and almost straight forest road begins, but over which we found many fallen tree trunks. We leave the mountain further and further back and we feel that we are getting closer to "civilization" because we can already hear cars and trains.

After 50 minutes from the confluence, we meet the blue band marker, the one I mentioned at one point on the way up. We are at the exit of the military units of mountain hunters, where we are greeted by several guard dogs, and from a bush a ... tank.

Turn off at DN73A Predeal - Paraul Rece. Nearby is the intersection with DN1.

6. DN1 - Predeal Train Station (1050)

45 min / easy / unmarked, road

Unfortunately also here there are no road markings on the road to indicate that it is a trailhead for those who want to start from this point.

We say goodbye to the Bucegi Mountains until next time. We make our way through the noise and noises of the cars to the beautiful construction of the train station in Predeal.