Seasons of Cozia

Cozia is a mountain that rises on the shores of the Olt river, in Vâlcea county, in the middle of Romania. Modest in height, Cozia is a natural wonder of deep forests, rocky butresses and hidden marvels.

Towering the river valley by over 1000 meters, Cozia rises like a natural fortress of the Southern Carpathian Mountains. It is an excellent place to visit in spring or autumn and, as such, I organised a trip in april for the members of carpați.org.

Carpați.org is a web portal dedicated to Romanian mountain lovers and a great place to get to know more about the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. It is a virtual place where hiking and backpacking fans gather and talk about their passion and, most important, invite each other on short trips through the mountains. Any member can come up with a hiking trip and anyone is welcome to join. I met a lot of wonderful people on carpați.org. Most of them are my close friends and one is even my wife!

Back to our Cozia trip, we started from Turnu monastery, a few kilometers north of the historic Cozia monastery, built by Mircea the Elder in the XIVth century. Spring was all over the place. The forest was full of fresh beech leaves and lots of flowers. Everything smelled great! Still, up above winter was lingering! With her last breath, snow covered our path for most of the time, creating a magical picture of white and green. Our shoes, however, had a different idea, feet soup being the special on the menu for the day.

On our way up, I made short detours for interesting objectives along the trail: Gardului waterfall and Durduc peak. The waterfall is an impressive sight and Durduc is one of the most beautiful peaks I know, surrounded by wilderness and beauty.

We arrived at the hut in early evening and enjoyed a couple of beers. The menu wasn’t what I remembered, unfortunately, and people with special diets had to improvise. A lot! Yet, we had a wonderful time, with endless talks and future plans. We even – well, I, mostly – played the guitar and sang some songs.

Our way down the Turneanu ridge was foggy. Through deep snow, we slowly got back to spring, with it’s fresh green leaves and wonderful flowers.

I trust my companions had a nice time in Cozia National Park for the weekend. I hope I will be able to organise such trips for the members of carpați.org in the future, as well. It’s one of the ways I can inspire people to get back to nature.

More images can be seen here. Also, make sure you check my Adventures section and look for great ways to go back to nature!

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