We start from the St. John's Road that starts in the Mănăștur neighborhood of Cluj-Napoca, in front of the St. John's Spring, see the following linkwhere you can park for free. The spring is 100 meters away and marked trails start from there. The spring is a very good one, with cold water and high flow. Many connoisseurs take water from here for home use.
Hiking on Peana Peak through Făget Forest is a leisurely hike on a loop trail that takes you to the highest peak on the slopes of Cluj,
(click on objectives for extended version)
Difficulty: easy
Duration / distance: 3,5-4 hours with breaks / 11 km
Marking: red cross / unmarked / blue cross / red triangle
Water sources: St. John's spring (at the starting point of the trail), Ola spring (near point 3 on the map)
Minimum altitude: 440 meters above sea level, at St. John's Spring, at the start
Maximum altitude: 833 meters, at Peana Peak, point 4 on the map
Level difference: +400 m / -400 m
Comments: well unmarked route, with lookout points near Peana Peak (point 6 on the map) and on Penii Stream (after point 7 on the map); accessible all year round
2 hours / 5.4 km / easy / red cross
From St. John's Spring, follow the signs marked in paint on a tree trunk up and left. After 10 minutes, we continue half left on the red cross marker. The trail climbs slowly through the beech forest. After 1 hour, we cross the DJ107R near Ola's spring. We continue through the forest, and just before the summit we suddenly change direction to the right, the place is well signposted.
through the forest
here we cross the road
here we change direction
Peana peak
from the spring up and left
the footbridge near St. John's Spring
this is where we start
From Peana Peak, we continue for another 2 minutes through a tunnel of bushes that takes us to a clearing that invites you to take a rest. This is also the lookout point. We identify from right to left, Muntele Mare, Piatra Secuiului and Cheile Turzii. We enjoy this place for 30 minutes.
to the Big Mountain
to the left of Piatra Secuiului
you can see the Turzii Gorges
our group
1 hour 45 minutes / 5.6 km / easy / blue cross, red triangle
We returned to the trail via another short "tunnel". We followed the blue cross marker. After half an hour we cross the DJ107R saddle, in a different place than on the way up. Here we leave the forest for a good few minutes. We're at the Penii stream. Here many amateurs of beautiful pictures come here to photograph for events with the background of the surrounding hills. To the left is a small lake and you can see the village of Sălicea. Back into the forest. The wide path is muddier, but we can easily avoid the wet areas.On this section we are accompanied in parallel by two markers, a blue cross and a red triangle. The incandescent sunset sends a few rays through the dense forest. After another 30 minutes on the road, we have to break away from the red marker and stick with the blue one, turning right. The fork is not well signposted at all. It gradually gets dark in the forest. After another 30 minutes on the blue cross, we meet the red triangle marker again, which we also follow to the right. The descent is pleasant, we find again the path we started 4 hours before which leads us to the St. John's spring.
this is where we enter the marked road
lots of wood collected
we intersect the road
Instagrammable place for photos
sunshine on the tree
on the path before
sunset through the trees
it gets dark
end of the road
Hiking on Peana Peak in the Cluj Hills is an easy and pleasant walk through the forest. Near the summit you can rest on the grass and admire the surroundings.
All the best!
Steps:
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