Mountain Camping – Zarnesti, Plaiul Foii, Piatra Craiului
Tourism and recreation
Due to its geographical position, Zarnesti has great tourism potential.
It can practiced climbing, horse riding, hiking in the wildest areas in Europe, namely in Piatra Craiului, where the wildlife population is very large.
Piatra Craiului is the main attraction of the area of Zarnesti being the starting point for most beautiful trails in the mountain. Piatra Craiului has a crest length of 25 km and an altitude of over 2000 meters, is the longest and highest limestone ridge in Romania.
Other attractions include Piatra Craiului’s Garofita, a unique flower in the world, Coltul Chiliilor (holy shrine in a cave), Prapastiile Zarnestilor (about 3 km lenght) and many more.
Horse-drawn carts rides to nearby villages, Magura or Pestera, the so-called bird watching, in Prapastiile Zarnestiului or near by surroundings are some of the other activities.
Mountain bike trails at Coltul Chiliilor through www.bikemap.net
Piatra Craiului’s mountain
In terms of petrography, Piatra Craiului is geological and morphological different from surrounding groups mountain massifs, Leaota Mountains, Bucegi, Fagaras and Iezer-Papusa. While these mountain groups are formed almost exclusively of crystalline rocks, Crai’s site, as is often nicknamed, is a sharp and steep “blade” of metamorphic rocks, especially limestone rocks of Jurassic age, about 24 – 26 km long, oriented from southwest to northeast, and about 6-8 km wide, on corresponding perpendicular directions. It’s well known vertical walls, 400-650 m tall, between Padina Lancii and Valea lui Ivan, were created due to horizontal strata of limestone.
Maximum altitude, 2244 m, is reached on the peak La Om, known as Piscului Baciului. The massif has numerous peaks over 2000 meters altitude (Padina Popii’s peak (2025m), Ascutit’s peak (2150 m), Timbalul Mare’s peak (2177m), Timbale’s peak (2170m), Sbirii’s peak (2220m), Caldarii Ocolite’s peak (2202m)).
Cheile Dambovicioarei and Dambovicioarei’s Cave are the most important karst formations in Piatra Craiului. In the northeast side appear Prapastiile Zarnestilor, La Zaplaz, Cerdacul Stanciului, Pestera Stanciului, Moara Dracului and the water outburst of Fantanile Domnilor si Fantana lui Botorog. Also, we want to point out Marele Grohotis which is an unstable rocks canvas of 4 km.
Piatra Craiului’s Natural Reserve was established in 1938 and comprises more than 1,200 hectares in Piatra Craiului.