Piatra Craiului National Park

35 km from Brasov in the Southern Carpathian's range lies Piatra Craiului National Park, a spectacular, 25km-long limestone ridge whose peaks exceed 2000m - a true paradise for rock climbing ethusiasts! Hikers can choose from numerous trails of varying difficulty, from simple mountain footpaths to trails too challenging to be climbed outside sumer. Less demanding options include walks through the forests which hug the mountain's feet, where seeing bears is not unusual! (Nearby, you can also find the Zarnesti Bear Sanctuary). 

Plenty of tourist attractions to visit here: Zarnesti Gorges (basically the entry point into the park), Bat caves, picturesque mountain villages (Magura, Pestera, Sirnea, Ciocanu), the many rock formations and the spectacular limestone ridge. The most popular hiking trails go through Zarnesti Gorges and lead to Curmatura Chalet (the only cabin in the high mountains). The highest peak is La Om, at 2236m. 

The Piatra Craiului massif became a nature reserve on March 28, 1938, initially having only an area of 440 ha. In 1971, the protected area expanded to 3,570 ha, by declaring several nature reserves in the counties of Brasov and Arges, and then a project to establish a national park was carried out. The purpose of designating the Piatra Craiului Massif as a national park is to preserve some representative ecosystems in their natural state and create the conditions for recreation, visiting and education, without these ecosystems being affected. In inhabited areas, the goal is to preserve the landscape resulting from traditional human activities.

Piatra Craiului National Park is one of the most attractive places in the Romanian Carpathians, due to the fact that it shelters a multitude of animal species, some of them with the value of Carpathian endemics. The fauna of the massif, especially the invertebrate species, offers researchers an unsuspected wealth of research possibilities, and large mammals attract wildlife lovers. Piatra Craiului National Park hosts a rich population of large carnivores: bear - Ursus arctos, wolf - Canis lupus, raccoon - Lynx lynx. The studies carried out showed the existence of three circulation lanes of these species between the Piatra Craiului and Bucegi massifs, lanes with a special protection regime. The roe deer - Capreolus capreolus and the red deer - Cervus elaphus are found in the forests at the base of the massif. Currently, the population of black goats - Rupicapra rupicapra that lives in the rocky areas of the massif is over 200 individuals. Other species of mammals found in the protected area are the wild boar - Sus scrofa, the badger - Meles meles, the tree marten - Martes martes, the stone marten - Martes foina, the wild cat - Felis silvestris and the otter - Lutra lutra.

The flora that delights the eyes of nature lovers who visit Piatra Craiului in the summer months has species subject to a strict protection regime: the Piatra Craiului carnation (Dianthus callizonus), the floristic symbol of Piatra Craiului, this mountain being the only place in the world that hosts it (it is a species endemic to Piatra Craiului). Piatra Craiului National Park shelters a large number of species of mountain orchids - 41 species out of 58 species existing on the territory of Romania.

About 1170 species of plants have been identified within the park's boundaries, some rare enough to appear on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List. Most spectacular is the vivid pink Piatra Craiului (Dianthus callizonus), which has become the park's symbol and cannot be found anyhwere else in the world.

Things to do

• Piatra Craiului is one of the most spectacular mountain massifs in Romania. Visitors can discover its attractions by following the 42 tourist routes. The Zarnesti ravines is an impressive sector of gorges, which was formed hundreds of millions of years ago and initially appeared in the form of a torrent. The formation of the keys was accelerated, due to the limestone layers. The total length of the keys is 3.9 km. It is fascinating due to the fact that it is narrow, has vertical walls, layered limestones, which according to some geologists are only found in these gorges. Also, the lucky ones can see examples of black goats, the rock butterfly or flowers characteristic of the area.
•  
• The ridge of Piatra Craiului - There are many routes that lead to the Piatra Craiului ridge and which are physically demanding, whether the ascent is from the eastern or western slope. But, once you have reached the ridge, the spectacular and imposing image will leave you breathless, and at the same time it will be the one that will take away your fatigue and replace it with fulfillment.
•  
• The area is more accesible, from Rucar and from Bran, nearby towns (where you can also go and visit local touristic objectives!) - so make sure you have at least one full day for mountain ranging and one for the towns and villages!
•  
• Be sure you come with a mountain guide and feel ready to explore geological and biological features that will leave you breathless! 

Info from www.pcrai.ro