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Touristic route in Ceahlau Massif: Durau – Duruitoarea Waterfall – Dochia

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:11:15 +0000

Route no 5: Durau Resort (800 m) – Vesuri Plane (1200 m) – Duruitoarea Waterfall (1210 m) – Polita Scaius (1400 m) – Polita Arinis (1650 m) – Piciorul Schiop (1780 m) – Dochia Chalet (1750 m)

This hiking route from Ceahlau Massif is marked since 1936 and it’s one of the first marked routes from Ceahlau. The marking is a red cross on a white background, the time necessary to make this route is about 5 hours and the length of the route is about 7.5 km. Because of its difficulty, the portion after Duruitoarea Waterfall is forbidden during winter.

The hike starts in Duraru Resort, continues near Cailor Plane and then goes into the forest. At some point the trail will cross the asphalted road from Izvorul Muntelui to Durau and continues to climb through the forest until it will reach Vesuri Plane. From here the hike is easy to make and after a descent and a short climb you’ll reach Duruitoarea Waterfall.

Photos of touristic route from Duruitoarea Waterfall to Dochia Chalet

The strong sound of the waterfall can be heard from the distance. The water first drops from 25 m onto a rock and the follows another 5 m drop. Near the waterfall there are a few benches where you can rest and admire this natural beauty. You can also see photos of this route starting from Durau Resort and up to Duruitoarea Waterfall.

The waterfall is located half way up. The portion of route that follows is difficult to make and it’s closed during winter. The trail is framed with wooden railings and goes on a steep slope. After a short level curve, the trail goes up on the edge of Scaius Gorge, twists itself through the trees and reaches the place called Polita Scaius (1400 m). From here you’ll have a spectacular view over Toaca Peek and Piatra Ciobanului Stone.

On this portion of route you’ll need to be very careful not to slip on the roots of the pine-trees. You’ll cross Arinis Gorge and you’ll climb to Polita Arinis where you’ll find three springs and an impressive view over Rarau Mountain, Piatra Ciobanului Stone and Toaca Peek. The trail narrows itself and climbs the last 200 m to Curmatura Piciorului Schiop (1750 m). From here the route is marked using iron poles.

Near Voda Gorge the route intersects the trail that comes from Bicazul Ardelean and then continues towards Piatra Lacrimata Stone and then to Dochia Chalet.

The Legend of Piatra Ciobanului Stone from Ceahlau Mountain

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:34:08 +0000

If you climb the mountain Ceahlau on the route bookmarked with red cross, that starts in the Durau resort – Duruitoarea Waterfall and goes up to the Cabin Dochia you’ll see, after the waterfall a plane from where you can see Toaca Peak and “Piatra Ciobanului” Stone (translated would be Sheperd’s Stone).

The route that goes from the Duruitoarea Waterfall to the Shepherd’s Stone starts from the left of the waterfall and goes up in an abrupt slope that was arranged by the park’s authorities with wooden stairs and rails. This route is closed during the winter. From here you reach Scaius Plane, from where the trail goes up near “Piatra Ciobanului” Stone. The route becomes abrupt. Once you’ll pass by Polita Arinisului you’ll reach a belvedere point from where you can see in all its splendor Toaca Peak and “Piatra Ciobanului” Stone.

Very few tourists know the legend of this stone that talks about the beauty of these places and a kind of people famous for their bravery and their herds of ox. Among these people there was a young shepherd that was a great story teller and that gathered all the animals around him to hear his stories. When he died to honor him the people named the rock where he used to go with his sheep the “Piatra Ciobanului” Stone. Read about other legends of stones from Ceahlau Massif.

The Legend of the Tower Butu and Ana from Ceahlau

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:32:19 +0000

If you climb the mountain Ceahlau following the route bookmarked with blue cross, that starts in the village Neagra – Peek Neagra – Plane Varatec – Peek Varatec – Plane Maicilor – The Tower of Butu – Ocolasul Mic and goes up to the Cabin Dochia, you’ll see two joined rocks called the Tower of Butu and Ana.

The legend of these rocks is presented to us by C Matase who speaks about Butu as a brave warrior from the time of ruler Alexandru cel Bun that was inloved with the king’s daughter Ana. They wanted to get married but unfortunately during a battle Butu was killed. Against her will, she had to marry another man.

The get rid of this trouble lady Ana went to a witch to help her. The witch took Ana and Butu into the mountain and the break of dawn she turned both of them into two joined stones. The big and more imposing stone is Butu and the smaller stone is Ana: this way they remained joined forever. Read about other legends from Ceahlau Massif!

The Legend of Toaca Peak from Ceahlau

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:31:02 +0000

If you climb the mountain Ceahlau on the route bookmarked with a red line, that starts in the Durau resort – Cabin Fantanele – Piatra Lata – Panaghia – under Toaca Peak and goes up to the Dochia Cabin, you’ll see, after you pass the Panaghia Stone, the east side of Toaca Peak. If you go along the trail you’ll reach the top of the peek where you can also see the weather observer. In the clear sky days the view from up here is magnificent.

As all the other important rocks from the mountain Ceahalau, Toaca Peak also has its own legend. The story talks about some giants that lived here. These people were ox breeders. One winter a disease killed almost all of them. Only a boy and a girl managed to escape with few animals. What they did next was to start building a tower each so that people from the east could see them.

The boy managed to raise a bigger tower than the girl but both were wonderful and the people from the valley looked at it with admiration and respect. In the day the forest changes her color to green, a moment that is called Probajini, a cold weather rushed into the mountain killing every living soul. After the cold weather passed the people went onto the mountain to look for the two giants. They found them frozen under the ice.

Since that day the big tower is called Toaca and smaller one Panaghia. Read about other legends from Ceahlau Massif!

The Legend of Detunate from Ceahlau

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:29:42 +0000

If you climb the mountain Ceahlau on the route bookmarked with a blue line that starts at the Cabin Izvorul Muntelui – Curmatura Lutu Rosu and goes up toDochia Chalet, you’ll encounter, after you pass the place called “Polita cu Crini”, a beautiful panoramic view towards Detunate, Dochia Chalet and Ocolasul Mare Peak. From here, the route goes through the spruce forest and after a few bends and twists you reach the base of the stones called ”Detunate”. The existence of these rocks is justified by the locals with two old stories.

The legend says that the stones called Detunate were once only one big rock. In a hot summer day a big rain starts to poor from the sky. Many thunders and lightings hit the stone and rips it apart. From that moment this place represented a touristic attraction for those that climb the mountain. This was also the place used by old monks to stay away from the world.

Another legend about these rocks talks about a very wealthy but stingy king that wouldn’t want to leave his fortune to his followers and buried it under these rocks. After a few hundred years the devil searched for the king’s treasure. Because he didn’t find anything, in his fury, he threw many thunders and lightings into the rocks. The result was that the treasure was melted by the heat from all the lightings and the big rock was broken to pieces. Read about other legends from Ceahlau Massif!

The Legend of Stanilelor Stones from Ceahlau Mountain

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:28:15 +0000

If you climb the mountain Ceahlau on the route bookmarked with blue line, that starts in the village Bicazu Ardelean – Curmatura Stanilelor – Jgheabul lui Voda and goes up to the Dochia Chalet, you’ll see, after you pass Curmatura Stanile, a large trail that goes through the forest and into the plane called Stanilele Mici. Here there is a great belvedere point to all the south part of the mountain.

The legend talks about a shepherd Stanila that came to these places with his herd of sheep. He heard that the grass was good here and the warm sun was ever friendly. One day he saw a girl, Maria that was the daughter of the wealthiest shepherd in the area. Because Stanila was poor and had few sheep Maria didn’t want to look at him.

The hart of Stanila was broken because he was in love with Maria. Knowing that he could never marry her, he climbed on top of these rocks and jumped into the void. From that moment on this place and its rocks were called the Stones of Stanila. Read about other legends from Ceahlau Massif!