Tișiței Gorges, Vrancei Mountains

1. Tișiței Gorges Reserve Entrance - Confluence of Tișiței Mari and Tișiței Mici 

6 km / 2 hours / medium

From Gura Tișiței, the place where the Tișița River flows into the Putna River, we carefully drive another 1 kilometer to the entrance of the Tișiței Gorge Reserve. Here you can park for free and pay the park entrance fee, but we didn't meet anyone to whom we paid.

From the very beginning the trail enters the Tișiței Gorges. On either side of the course of the Tișița river, with its clear water, rock walls rise, some high and steep. On the right we pass the cliff called Tișița Altar. The trail even has kilometer markers. At one time a road and even a railroad used to pass through here. The wide bridges with stone parapets, partly destroyed by floods, are proof of this. The path occasionally descends steeply into the riverbed or humps higher up due to road breaks caused by floods.

Our route crosses a wooded, stony area, which must be traveled carefully along the mentioned breaks. On the left side, in a clearing with tall plants, is the Tisaru (La Pândar) forest canton.

The Tișiței Gorges become more and more spectacular the further upstream we go. After less than 2 hours, we reach the confluence of Tișița Mari and Tișița Mica, the point where the combined courses of the rivers bear the name Tișița.

2. The confluence of the Big and Small Tits - Arcade - Big Tunnel

1 km / 0.5 hours / easy

From the confluence, the marker leads us to the right bank of the Tișița Mici. The gorge landscape is preserved. Studying the map we saw that upstream of the confluence on the Tișița Mare is a waterfall, probably an obstacle that we thus avoid while crossing a spectacular section of road, overlooking the high and steep cliffs on the left bank, where black goats can be seen.

Although we travel only 1 kilometer on Tișița Mica, we pass through 2 stone arches and after a short time we reach the entrance to an amazing tunnel, where there is also a large and clear sign warning about the difficulty of continuing the route through the tunnel, but especially about the 5 water crossings and the steep climbs that will follow, the wilderness, the natural environment of bears, lynx, wolves, the lack of telephone signal and the distance from populated settlements.

3. The Big Tunnel - Camping on the Golden (Big) Trail

2 km / 1 hour / difficult

We enter the large tunnel that measures 300 meters long. It can be muddy or partially flooded, but we found it in ideal condition to walk through. In the tunnel we found the remains of railroad sleepers, which once again prove the existence of old railroads built here since the Austrian times.

On the other side of the tunnel we find Tișița Mare. The descent into the riverbed is short but steep and requires caution, like all the river crossings ahead of us. It has gotten dark, which makes our expedition even more adventurous. At some crossings we stepped from rock to rock, at others we built our own makeshift crossing places, but we also opted to cross barefoot through the water. The Great Tișița Valley is now called the Valley of the Golden Tișița. The gorges are getting wilder.

After the fourth crossing of Tișița Mari by water, we start a steep ascent on the left bank, through the forest, on a slippery terrain with pebbles, earth, tree roots and stubble, by torchlight, making sounds or whistling to avoid meeting the bear. We climb up to near a promontory on the left of the path, from where we descend steeply, but in a few serpentines in the path of a stream, which we cross gently, to enter a flat plain on the left bank of the Golden Cliff. This ascent and descent was again due to diverting our route to avoid another waterfall area.

It's dark, the sky is starry, this will be our wilderness campsite. There are only bears and three of us: Petra, Bogdan and me. Good night! Sweet dreams with bears!

4. Camping, hot stone breakfast and hot tub bath

The next morning we had big plans, but Bogdan, the organizer of the tour, had 2 surprises ahead.

At breakfast we light a camp fire, which must be well protected with stones from the river, and which we light with wood and fir-ash. Into the hot coals we put flat stones from the river on which we spread the steaks, which immediately began to sizzle. We sprinkled them with thyme picked from the glade and picked and ate roasted chanterelles.

The second surprise was 100 meters downstream from the campsite, where the Big Tisza formed several waterfalls in small steps on rocky ground, forming shallow natural pools. We bathed in this natural jacuzzi! Spectacular and pampering!

5. Campsite on Tișița Aurie (Mare) - Exit Tișiței Gorges Reservation

9 km / 4 hours / difficult

A little upstream from the campsite is the confluence with the Cristianu Mic stream, which can be climbed very steeply in the Cristianului Ridge and in the Geamăna saddle, on the same red triangle marker, then on unmarked at Coza Peak and on the red stripe in Coza Pass for a 360 panoramic view. Time needed 4 hours, difficult route with big difference in level. This was our initial plan, which we changed on the spot deciding on the principle of one for all, all for one.

In the afternoon we set off towards the exit of the Tișiței Gorges Natural Park, on the same route we had come, but with natural light on the spectacular section of road traveled the day before by lantern light. Tough climb, steep descent, 4 impromptu river crossings, the big tunnel, the arches, the confluence and the oh so beautiful Tișiței Gorges. Because we had to advance slowly, hard, we were again caught by the darkness towards the end of the trail.

Thank you Bogdan for helping me discover this heaven!