Day Trip: Tisita Gorges – Vrancea Mountains

Tisita Gorges (Cheile Tisitei) are located in Putna – Vrancea Natural Park, approximately 73 km from Focsani.

Integral route: Gura Tisitei – Tisita Valley – Great Tunnel – Tisita Mare – Cristianul Peak – Roibului Goal – Gemini Saddle

⛰️Route difficulty: Easy
⏳Duration route to Gemini Saddle: 9 hours
📏Total Distance: 13.2 km

⏳Duration of the route to the Great Tunnel: 2-3 hours
📏Distance to the Great Tunnel: 7.5 km

💸 Entrance fee to Putna-Vrancea Natural Park: 4 lei / person, 2 lei / child

How do you get to Tisita Gorges?

The easiest way is to go by car. Just before the start of the route through Tisita Gorges, there is a parking lot, which of course becomes too small if you go on weekends or public holidays and if you arrive after 10 o’clock.

Coming from Bucharest, we chose to go on the E85 to Focsani and then turn left towards Lepsa. If you come from Transylvania then you will pass through Targu Secuiesc to Lepsa.

Accommodation?

Around Tisita Gorges, tourism is quite well developed. There are plenty of accommodations in Lepsa, the gorges being just a few minutes walk away.

Below are some accommodation possibilities:

Booking.com

Difficulty of the hike?

A very long trail passes through Tisita Gorges, which goes to Saua Geamana, being a 13.2 km long route. For this trail, you need a good physical condition and even a tent, being a climb of about 9 hours.

But if you do not want to stay so long on the mountain, then you can hike just half of the trail. At the halfway point is a 267-meter long tunnel through which you can pass. This part of the trail is an easy one, suitable for everyone. There is no need to be trained or in good physical condition, being enough to be able to walk 15 km, for 5-6 hours.

Our experience Tisita Gorges

We visit Tisita Gorges on a Saturday and having only one day available, we decided to leave Bucharest at 4 in the morning. An hour that I don’t think is comfortable for anyone. We left so early because we wanted to be among the first to reach the trail. And being autumn, we didn’t want to be pressured by the time left until sunset. 

At 9 o’clock we started the hike and we were the third car in the parking lot. 

Our goal was to reach the Great Tunnel and enjoy nature at the same time. The trail is an easy one. Only certain sections it was a little difficult due to the rain that had ended exactly when we arrived. Thus, the stones were slippery and we had to be careful where we stepped. When he returned, everything was dry and it was much easier.

In the middle of the trail, we discovered that a wooden bridge over a stream was broken… and we had to cross through the water. Luckily there were quite a few stones and wood around, and we managed to arrange them so as to create a small path through the water and cross. On the way back, when there were already people on the route, that place had turned into a small bridge, being very easy to cross.

Until we reached the Great Tunnel, we went through 2 very nice mini tunnels. From what we understand, this trail was a former forest railway line. Thus the tunnels and the bridges on the route were built. At the moment, you don’t really see evidence if there really was a railway there or not. But in the Great Tunnel, you can still see some wooden cross beams.

The final point of the hike for us was the Great Tunnel. I went through it carefully,  not to make too much noise, there is a danger of stones falling. Luckily we had my phones charged because without a flashlight it is very difficult to cross it. Especially since there are only stones in the tunnel.

Wanting to enjoy nature, we did not rush to ascend or descend. So we spent about 6 hours on this hike.

Recommendation, in the area you can also visit: Putna Waterfall