Trails in the Prahova Valley

We've included a few of the more popular day and half-day hikes here which are right around Buşteni, and don't actually go up into the Bucegi mountains much, if at all.  See our Bucegi Natural Park guide for some great trails leaving Buşteni.

Below are three good walks -- the very popular Wailing Falls trail, taking about 150 minutes to get there and back, then the trail down the Prahova River valley to Sinaia (but going on the eastern mountain side), and the Zamora Saddle and Peak trail, which goes up the opposite side of the valley from the Bucegi massif in the west.

The Path to the Wailing Falls

The trail leading south-west from Buşteni leads up into the foothills to Wailing Falls (Cascada Urlătoare) at . Taking a little over one hour for most, this accessible trail is open during the entire year.  

This is a favourite and well-known walk, frequented by school groups and tourists alike, this gentle walk through the low woodlands follows the trail to the south and towards the escarpment (see Map) to the waterfall, well worth a few good photos.   About a third of the way down, another trail takes off (marked with ) up to the southwest up "The Stairs" to Burnt Rock (Piatra Arsă). 

Starting on Cable Car Street (Strada Telecabinei), you look up at the amazing band of huge cliffs above, from the Claia Mare Peak, cleft with the Dry Pine Gully (Valea Seacă a Jepilor). 

Taking off to the right is the old trail to Caraiman along the Pine Valley (Valea Jepilor), and after some fairly pronounced climbing, you get at the point called “The Grill” (“La Grătar”). 

Here the road branches.  To the right, the trail marked with a goes to Piatra Arsă Cabin, while our red dot trail goes over a little bridge, crosses the Dry Pine Gully and after an easy segment through the forest, the trail comes out at the Wailing Falls (Cascada Urlătoare), suitably impressive by height and breadth. 

Walk Down the Prahova River!

Why would anyone drive to Sinaia, when this great forest road runs along the eastern side of the river?  This forest road connects the Zamora quarter in Buşteni with the Cumpătu quarter in Sinaia.  Get a maxi taxi for the road back up the valley, a great afternoon!

Taking about 3 ˝ hours, the trail is really only accessible during summer time.  Going from the Buşteni train station, you cross the Prahova river bridge, after it sweeps past Gării and Griviţei streets.  Behind the Zamora Sanatorium, you go south on the forest road, parallel with the margin of the Zamora forest, up to the Zamora valley (Valea Zamorei), where the road splits. 

The branch of the road going to the left climbs towards Zamora campsite, while the one on the right goes to Sipa Valley (Valea Sipa), where it forks once again.  Stick with the road along forest’s edge, travelling through the Tufei Valley  (Valea Tufei) and then down into the little eastern quarter of Sinaia, the Cumpătu neighbourhood, home of the Enescu Museum and some cute older cottages.   Dinner in Sinaia, or go back via train, maxi-taxi or just stay overnight!

 The Zamora Peak Trail

Beat the crowds and head towards the rising sun!  Zamora peak, at to the east of Buşteni, is nothing to be sneezed at, and the trail will lead you up to the Zamora Saddle and the peak itself, after about 7 hours of good climbing.

Starting out from the train station in Buşteni, you’ll cross the rail line and then go over the Prahova river.   This puts you in the Zamora neighbourhood of Buşteni, and soon after the Sanatorium building, on the left side, you meet the marker. 

Following the marker, the trail takes us to the campsite, and from here to the Zamora Saddle (Şaua Zamorei), where the trails turns left up to the summit of Mount Zamora.   You’ll have some very unique views of the major cliff structures of the Bucegi massif to the west, beautiful in the afternoon sun. 

Read more about the Bucegi National Park here!

From Buşteni to Bucegi Natural Park

Buşteni is in a great position for easy access to the nearby wonders of the Bucegi mountains, from waterfalls, to interesting rock formations, and at all times, simply fabulous views in all directions.

In some ways, Buşteni benefits from having a bit more elbow-room before the actual abrupt elevations of the Bucegi Massif begins.  This means some more leisurely trails leading to meadows, waterfalls, and some nice perspectives on the Prahova Valley.

For those a bit less willing to expend the energy on some local walks, the very popular cable cars (telecabine, with gondolas the sizes of small busses), dependably run up and down between the valley floor and the staggering peaks year-round.

The Buşteni Natural Park

Even in the middle of the peak winter season, this park is a little wonderland and perfect for a few photos and a walk amongst the fairy lights adorning the trees and structures. 

In summer, it is nature's wonderland, with enough lakes, waterfalls, trees, chasms, gorges, and bright blue skies to rival Yosemite in it's graceful grandeur.

The cable cars going up and into the park from Buşteni go to more interesting destinations than those to the south at Sinaia (which serve the Cota 2000 ski station more than anything).  

Sustained by 6 pylons, heading from an altitude of in Buşteni, up to up on the Bucegi escarpment, the total length is over .  

The cable car goes on an average height of over one of the most beautiful alpine areas of Romania. 

In 1982, the cable car line was extended down into the Ialomiţa river valley to the caves, monastery and hotel there, adding a length of another .  You'll want to have the camera ready for views of Vâlcelul Înspumat, Cascada Caraiman, Valea Jepilor, south side of Caraiman, Jepii Mici, and finally the Bucegi plateau where you can find the Caraiman Cabin () perched on the edge of the massif. 

During winter time, near the various cabins at Old Women (Babele), Caraiman and Burnt Rock (Piatra Arsă), you can find ski courses for both amateurs and advanced. 

From Buşteni, you have your choice of getting off at the first stop once up on the massif plateau, where there are some fun rock formations, and that great big cross overlooking everything, or continue on to the Cave Monastery, down in the central Ialomiţa river valley.

Alternatively, you can get out at the first stop, enjoy 45 minutes or so of seeing the main sights there, and then walk down the well-graded trail to the caves and monastery below, where there is also a hotel with cafe suitable for a nice afternoon treat.

For those a bit more ambitious, the entire central plateau, shaped like a giant horseshoe, is criss-crossed with trails of all difficulty levels. 

Unlike most American park trails however, the Romanian versions tend to either follow a watercourse rather strictly, or along the spine of a mountain -- do not expect well-graded switch-backs on your way up the mountain, as this technique is only used sporadically at best.

Lake Bolboci and the Tatar Gorge

At the centre of the great Bucegi amphitheatre of mountains, is the jewel in the crown, where the Ialomiţa River, flushed with melting snow runoff, snakes through the Tatar Gorges to open into Lake Bolboci, the sapphire beauty of the Bucegi.

Ringed with dense emerald forest, the man-made lake fits comfortably in the main central depression of the massif, lined with tributaries and a few caves, on of which is home to a rather well-built monastery and hotel complex.

Once you are up on the main peaks, with Mount Omu being the crowning glory of the Bucegi Massif, you can see across to the craggy Piatra Craiului National Park in Transilvania to the north, and south across the wide Wallachian plains.

If you are a fan at all of the outdoors, the mountains of the Bucegi Natural park make a fitting introduction to the Carpathian Mountains. 

The Old Women and the Sphinx

This decidedly interesting rock formation is one of the better known on the massif, and really underscores how varied and feature-rich this rocky plateau is.

Worn by wind and rain for centuries, these two rocks, depending on the angle, look very much like two old women (babele) huddled in conversation. 

The nearby Sphinx  is considerably better known than the one in the dusty steppe country of Pricopan Range in the Măcin Mountains National Park in Western County Tulcea.  Almost directly north of the old women and their pet sphinx is the Big Baba mountain, looming over her smaller sisters to the south.

The Big Pine Mountains

Just south of the Old Women lie Little Pine Mountain and the Pining Spring Creek (Izvorul Dorului) begins it's travels just east of the main north-south forest road.

Both road and creek head south towards Burnt Rock (Piatra Arsă) and the Ant Mountain (Vârful Furnica) end of the cable car coming up from Sinaia.  

The forest road is well graded most months, and you can make the trek down in a bit over an hour to the Mioriţa cabin and then east to the cable car station along the trail.

The National Heroes' Monument

Going north from the Old Woman, you'll find that great cross on the mountain, and if you look up from anywhere in Buşteni, you can't miss this memorial to the tens of thousands of Romanians who lost their lives and were taken prisoner in WWI.   See more about Romania in WWI in History below

The First World War was savagely cruel to Romanians, as a combination of over-optimism, bad intelligence and bad planning undermined their initial efforts to make a grab for Transilvania.   As it turned out, the Germans and Central Powers advanced from all directions to take 80% of Romania (up to the river Siret) until the end of WWI.  

Queen Marie's Cross

The Caraiman Peak is one of the most prominent in the whole Bucegi Massif which towers over Buşteni, so was a natural choice for the monument erected between 1926 and 1928, at the behest of Romania's Queen Marie.

She really had suffered greatly along with her subjects, stripped of her court, clothes and dignity as she fled north and east to Iaşi to escape the advancing German, Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian troops.  

The cross was Queen Marie's heartfelt dedication to all those Romanians who lost their lives in the horrible slaughter she witnessed through those cruel years.  

It was Queen Marie's wish that the war dead never be forgotten and after some intense lobbying, bullying and backroom deals to get her way,  her wish and hope still lives with every glance up at the magnificent cross atop Mount Caraiman.

The sides of the mountain were decorated with strings of ox carts, each hauling local construction materials in carts up rough-hewn trails.   It's a great thing to see once you're up there, almost high, and about wide, lit up at night and gives a Christmas-like feel to Buşteni year-round.  

 It is unclear how many of the Romanian's who died were not actually Christians, although surely they would appreciate kind gesture even if they were Jewish or otherwise.

The Prahova Valley's Top Trail Town

Buşteni is nicely placed about halfway up the main Bucegi escarpment which towers over the Prahova Valley.  It has the added benefit of being fairly equidistant from the main attractions in the Bucegi Natural Park.

Whether you have decided to aim for the highest peak in the Bucegi Mountains, or are looking for a relaxing morning hike to the nearby waterfalls, starting out in Buşteni makes alot of sense.

All of the following trails from Bucegi are explored in more detail on our Special Guide on the Bucegi Mountains.

The Red Picket Meadow Loop

Starting out at at , this loop excursion from Buşteni goes first up to Coştila Meadow (Poiana Coştilei) at on the trail, then across to the Red Picket Meadows (Poiana Pichetul Roşu) at .   Explore this Trail More Here

The Miller’s Needles Loop

This excellent round-trip from Buşteni does take a full day, but provides stunning views across a wide variety of Bucegi Terrain, including the The Mountain Gate, Golden Valley, and the Millers Needles and Miller Valley. 

The trail soon yields to the “The Mountain Gate” (“Poarta Munţilor”), where the sparse trees perfectly frame the view of the magnificence ahead.

Very much at the “pinnacle” of your trail day, you can admire the imposing Miller’s Needles (Acele Morarului), their spiky spires reaching for the (hopefully) blue Romanian skies.   Explore this Trail More Here

From Buşteni to the Diham Hut

Going from Buşteni up first to the Gura Diham Cabin at , and then on to the Diham Cabin at , the trail takes about three hours to traverse up to the Diham Hut, accessible during the entire year.  Explore this Trail More Here

Trail to the Burnt Rock Cabin

This summertime route begins in Buşteni and continues to the Pine Forestry Station (Cantonul Jepi, at ) and then over to the Piatra Arsă Cabin, at along the route, taking most just over 4 hours.  Explore this Trail More Here

The Old Women Cabin Trail

This trail going wayyyy up to the Babele Cabin (at !), was thankfully supplanted by the cable car in 1978, which manages the route in just 12 minutes up through the stunning Pine Valley. Explore this Trail More

The Trail to the Clouds

Indeed a “trophy trail”, this one wends it’s way up through Stag Valley and then up to the highest mountain in the Bucegi mountains (and well within Romania’s top ten at 7th, just lower than the top peak in the Făgăraş mountains, Moldoveanu).  Read More Here

The Bucegi Mountains Great Outdoor Itineraries, Protected Reserves, Park Maps, Mammals, Hiking Trails, Flowers, and Super Skiing!