Zanoaga Gorges, Scropoasa Lake, 7 Springs Waterfall and Orzei Gorges

[:en]Zanoaga Gorges[:ro]Cheile Zanoagei[:]

The Trail: Zanoaga Gorges – Scropoasa Lake – Orzei Gorge – 7 Springs Waterfall is ideal for a day getaway, for anyone who wants to take a nature break and breath fresh mountain air. For us, it was an ideal trip to get in shape after staging at home so much.

How to get to Zanoaga Gorges?

Zanoaga Gorges is almost in the middle of the mountains, and because of this, you will need a personal/rental car to reach them. The trail starts near Camping Zanoaga. It took us about 3 hours to get there from Bucharest, on the route: Bucharest – Sinaia – Transbucegi – Camping Zanoaga. It can also be reached through Moroeni, but we preferred to enjoy the wonderful views from the Bucegi plateau.

Transbucegi view

Tip: The sooner you arrive, the better parking you will find for the car. We arrived around 9:30 and there were only 2 cars parked, with plenty of parking spaces available. After finishing the trail, around noon, the cars were parked everywhere, is quite difficult to find an ok parking space.

Camping?

If you want to stay several days in nature, to rent a tiny house or with a tent, then you can do that at Camping Zanoaga. This campsite is positioned exactly at the start of the trail and seems quite well organized (I haven’t tested it yet). A few minutes away by car is the Bolboci Hut, which also offers accommodation and camping.

On the trail, camping and fire are prohibited, but just a picnic is totally ok.

Don’t forget to collect the garbage behind you!

Trail difficulty Zanoaga Gorges?

The trail Zanoagei Gorges – Scropoasa Lake – Orzei Gorge – 7 Springs Waterfall can be considered of low difficulty. There are no difficult areas and it feels almost like a walk in the park. On this trail, we saw very well equipped people, but also people in jeans and casual shoes, we saw elderly people, but also children under 10 who had no problems. Therefore, this trail is for almost everyone.

More about the sights you will visit:

Zanoaga Gorges

The whole path is through an invigorating green forest and follows the Ialomita River, which makes its way through huge rocks and boulders.

The trail through Zanoaga Gorges is composed of 3 distinct portions. In the first part of the trail, you will have a path that is full of stones. You have to be a little careful because the stones become very slippery if they are wet. In the second part you will find some ascent/descent slopes. Towards Scropoasa Lake you will have to descend, on the way back you will be climbing. The last part is almost flat, it winds you through the forest, reaching the first destination (Scropoasa Lake).

Scropoasa Lake

Scropoasa Lake is the first destination on the trail. It is an artificial dam lake that was built in 1929 for hydropower purposes. You can also get here by car (if you want to test an unpaved road), and you can relax at a picnic. There are a lot of nice places where you can lie down and enjoy the view.

Orzei Gorges

To get to Orzei Gorges you have to go along Scropoasa Lake, a well-defined route, with even lighting poles (we don’t know if they work). The Orzei Gorges are 1.5 km long and are considered the narrowest, most spectacular and wildest gorges in the Ialomita Valley. The gorges are not accessible from this trail, and it’s not very well marked, so we didn’ know which way to take. We just enjoyed the view of the dam, took some pictures and returned.

Orzei Gorges

7 Springs Waterfall

The 7 Springs Waterfall can also be reached by car if you want, but it is best to enjoy a walk in nature. The distance between Scropoasa Lake and the 7 Springs Waterfall is about 10-15 min walk.

Trail duration Zanoaga Gorges?

For us, the whole route lasted 4 hours round trip. We didn’t rush, we stopped to take pictures, eat and enjoy nature. The route can be done in 3 hours if you don’t stop so much