Zănoaga Chalet (1400m) – Camping Zănoaga – Cheile Zănoagei – Chalet Scopoasa (1205m) – Srcopoasa Lake – Cheile Orzei – Dobrești – Scopoasa Lake – Cascada 7 Izvoare – Camping Zănoaga – Bolboci accumulation lake and dam – Bolboci Chalet (1460m) – Zănoaga Chalet

Travel time: 5 hours and 30 min
Distance: 16,5 km
Level difference: 617 m
Qualification: easy/medium hike

In my blog, Omu and Bucura Peaks, I mentioned that in the Bucegi Mountains, on Sunday we admired Cheile Zănoaga’s famous hidden beauties. The Zănoaga Orzea Nature Reserve is truly one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Bucegi Mountains and you can get an insight into the wonders of the foothills. On the morning of Aug. 9, 2020, we packed enough food and water for half a day, as the weather was good, we didn’t even put on a raincoat. Following the map, starting from the Zănoaga Chalet, we reached the Zănoaga Camping next to the carriage road, where we crossed the Ialomița stream and followed the blue cross sign and penetrated deeper and deeper inside the Zănoaga fissure. The wide road, on which many tourists hike that day also, turned into a narrow, stony, rocky path. It runs along the Ialomița stream all the way, we had to cross several bridges and in some places chains helped us progress more easily. The water roared loudly in the Rift, the trees rustled in the woods, it made me feel like a real secret road, as if I were heading to Narnia. We continued along Scropoasa Lakethe road widened again and we suddenly found ourselves in a meadow among viscos and near the Zănoaga Chalet. There were several signs warning tourists about the danger of bears. As we approached the Lake Scropoasa following the blue cross sign. At the other end of the lake begins the Orzea Rift, which you can’t cross on foot, but you can see in and look at how narrow it really is. This is the narrowest part of Ialomița. There are small wooden structures on the rock wall. Most tourists just walk this far, but we judged the trip short and we went ahead on the path. Since it is not possible to cross the Orzea Rift, we have bypassed it. We climbed the hill next to it and then descended back to Ialomița, peeking into the fissure on the other side as well. We decided to go all the way to Dobrești. The road was narrow and abandoned. There was a lot of noise next to the creek, so I blew my whistle densely because of the bears to hear we were coming. This section was really untouched, fallen trees, worn signs, weeds growing in the way, made it difficult to progress. Then we finally arrived at the barren Dobrești resort.

USEFUL INFO: The whistle is a good friend, don’t leave it at home! You can also alert bears to your arrival, and if you accidentally get into trouble is a useful tool to get attention, they’ll be easier to find.

USEFUL INFO: If you are hiking in an unfamiliar place, you may want to take a printed map with you. In similar fissures, valleys, there is not always cellular coverage to load the electronic map, so it is easy to get lost, especially if the hiking trail is not well trampled or the signs are worn, incomplete.

After a little rest, we didn’t even stay any longer, we went back the same route all the way to Lake Scropoasa, where we even walked to the 7 spring waterfalls.  Tourists have multiplied in the meantime and time has passed quite well, so we thought it better to go back to the car and go home. Arriving at the car, we were just curious to see what the Bolboci accumulation lake and the dam , looked like, so we walked down the carriageway. We crossed the dam and rested next to a soft drink in the Bolboci Chalet. We said goodbye to the Bucegi Mountains and headed home. We had a very pleasant, nice tour this weekend. The Bucegi Mountains still have many beauties, it will definitely be worth another visit. My Strava trail recording: