Muddy Volcanoes, Berca, Scorțoasa, Buzău

A visit and a hike in the Muddy Volcanoes area

Where can you find them, when can you visit them, how much does it cost?

Mud Volcanoes are located on the territory of the communes of Berca and Scorțoasa in Buzău County, in the central part of the Curved Subcarpathians. The easiest access is via the DN10 road, which must be left in the locality of Sătuc. Continue on the DJ102F over the Buzău river, where you enter the commune of Berca. From here there are several options, depending on what you want to visit. For the main tourist objective, the volcanoes of Pâclele Mari, continue on the DJ102F to Policiori, then on the DJ220A. From leaving the DN10 there are 15 km to cover. From Buzău the distance of 40 km takes just under 1 hour. At both Pâclele Mari and Pâclele Mici, adults have to pay 4 lei and children 1 lei. There are several parking options, some free. At the smaller volcanoes, called boilers, access is free.

About Mud Volcanoes

Known for over a century for their scientific and landscape importance, In 1924, the mud volcanoes of the Big and Small Pillars were declared a natural monument. The mud volcanoes in Buzău county rank 2nd in Europe after those of the Apseron Peninsula, Baku (Azerbaijan, if we consider that European territory). Other such volcanoes can be found in Russia, Italy, Iraq, India, USA, Colombia. In Romania there are mud volcanoes in Transylvania, Oltenia and Muntenia. The term "mud volcano" refers to a small eruption of mud, accompanied by gaseous fumes and sometimes traces of oil. Mud volcanoes occur as a result of the release of gases, which in their downward movement towards the surface entrain water. The volcanoes in Buzău county are divided into mud volcanoes and mud boilers. The volcanoes have conical shapes and a small crater at the top. The boils are flat, round excavations. Some boiling, others boiling, with mud bubbling up. They can be active or extinct. There are four plateaus with such formations: Berca's Boils, Beciu's Boils, the Great and Small Pans. In the area of the volcanoes the terrain is arid. The only plant that has adapted to these conditions is the cockle weed. Outside the arid zone, dedike, rufescence, scrumpia, sask, wild lilac

1. Berca's Feasts

Exit Berca on Stadionului street. The road is unpaved and climbs up through a pine forest to a second fork in the road, where there is a wider space and free parking. In the village there is a signpost to Berca's Feastsbut not at the stopping place. The landmark, however, is a barrier to the left of the road we came from. The location is on the waze app. It goes up 100 meters on a wide dirt road, after the barrier, past some pipes. This brings you to the first of the two brewery plateaus here. There are a couple of fairly small but active kettles.

Here's a video of Berca's Feasts.

mud

this is the way to the boilers

here we park

mud boilers

Berca's Feasts

2. Beciu's Feasts

Now there is an organizational detail, we go to the campsite La Hangar via Berca and Policiori on DJ220A and then another 700 meters ahead towards Pâclele Mici. Here we leave one car and with the others we leave towards Beciu. We return the 700 meters to the DJ220A, which we follow towards Pâclele Mari. Near Pâclele Mari appears on the map a thin route, an unpaved and narrow shortcut to Beciu 2,2 km. In the village we turn off the DC97 and follow it to the right for another 1.1 km. We arrive at Beciu's Feasts. The point is well marked on the waze app. And here there is a wider scuaro where you can park. A signpost and a landscaped path leads us, to the right as we come, slightly downhill, to a huge kettle, about 20 feet in diameter. On the way out we filmed a termite mound.

Here's a video of Beciu's Feasts.

Beciu's Feasts

mud boilers

termite mounds

here we park

down this path we descend

me at the Beciu Feasts

3. Beciu - Big Big Loops

We drive back on the shortcut between Beciu and Pâclele Mari, on the main road, park and start the hike. We start through the forest on the shortcut where we have discovered a marked cycle-tourist trail that passes a well and reaches a sheepfold, where there is a branch of cycle trails. We continue a little further and reach Big Pasta.

stână

we've reached the Great Big Mushrooms

on the cycle touring route

fountain

I parked at a little fork

4. The Big Pasta

Big Pasta is the most visited place in the area of the mud volcanoes. We pay admission and read a large, informative sign. Then we follow the wide path accompanied by an educational pictorial story. The volcanoes here have cones, but there are also a few boilers among them. We also identify a landscaped walkway. In the muddy area one should avoid fluid tongues of mud to avoid slipping. On the right side there are gullies, some canyons of dry and cracked earth, even a small area of reddish salt poking to the surface. There are plenty of tourists come to enjoy the spectacle of nature.

Here's a video of Big Pasta.

watch your step!

mud volcano

Big Pasta

fluid and dry

our group

ravene

Survivor's guide

ticket office

Big Pasta

Poverty

dry mud layers

5. Large Pâcles - Small Pâcles

We continued our hike covering the distance between the main sights of the area on foot. This stretch of road measures 3 km. From Big Pasta we turned right in front of the Volcanii Noroioși guesthouse. The road has no signpost here, it curves in an arc to the left to rejoin the cycle route in 300 meters. We go down for 2 km practically east of the Great Forks until we reach the secondary road near the Small Forks. On the hill in front of us we see written in the rocks the Muddy Volcanoes. A little to the right of where we came out is a large campground called Muddy, at the point known as La Hangar. This is where we parked our first car. We continue on foot, uphill 700 meters, straight ahead on Volcanoes Alleywhich leads to the toll point at Small CF.

we depart from the Great Big Dances

on that hill are the Little Beaks

La Hangar campsite and point

6. Small Poppies

The mud volcanoes of the Lesser Pahls are the most conical of all those visited. Here too there are a few boils and some ravines, but the main attraction are the volcanic cones, especially the active ones, in which mud bubbles up and forms small mud rivers. There are tourists enjoying the landscape, so different, arid, dry, with tongues and mud cones, and taking pictures. The descent from the Little Forks we made on a road that forms slightly to the right of the hilltop we are on. This road descends steeply near an oil rig, from where we go left towards La Hangar, to the car. Part of the group wanted to check off the summit conquest.

Here's a video of Small CF.

our group

volcano alley

meet the dragon

ticket office

active vulcan

extinct volcanoes

oil station

on the shore

me at the Small Gobs

mud volcano cone and crater

volcano and boiling

secondary descent

sondă

little house covered with reed

Volcanoes Alley

here are the Small Loops

7. Berca View

We identified on the map a viewpoint marked as Berca View and I was curious to get to it. In the locality of Berca, you take Schelei street, a sloping road with an execrable road surface. At the bend is the viewpoint. From here you can see part of the town of Berca and the Buzăului Valley. Not as spectacular as I had hoped.

Berca View

belvedere

Conclusions

Mud Volcanoes are a tourist attraction, a place to visit at least once in a lifetime. Tourists usually visit the Big and Small Ponds, to which access by car is quite easy. I remember a walk here in the past when I stayed to watch the sunset. I recommend visiting the Mud Volcanoes.

In the area you can also visit Buzău municipality or explore the enigmatic area in Luana Country and Colți Amber Museum or House with blazons from Chiojdu or The Trovans of Chiojdu.

All the best!

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