Azuga is a small

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

in the mountains of

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/k ...

in the historical region of

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is located at the foot of the

Baiu Mountains The Baiu Mountains (, ) are mountains in central Romania, a few kilometers south of Brașov. Within traditional Romanian classification the Baiu Mountains belong to the Curvature Carpathians. According to the geological divisions of the Carp ...

and contains several ski slopes, including the longest ski run in Romania, the Sorica. Once heavily industrialized, Azuga contains a bottled water factory, (a leftover from a notable beer factory that brewed Azuga Beer, now produced elsewhere in Romania under license), a sparkling wine factory,

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

, and lodging (Cramele Rhein, owned by

Halewood International Halewood International or Halewood Artisanal Spirits PLC are UK-based distiller and distributor of artisanal spirits. They are one of the UK's largest independent artisanal spirits distillers which exports to 95 countries. Structure Hale ...

). The town offers a view over the

Bucegi Mountains The Bucegi Mountains ( ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , ''Omu Peak, Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, the Bucegi Mountains ha ...

, from street level to the top of the Sorica mountain, where a gondola arrival station is located. Azuga is one of the most famous mountain resorts of

Prahova Valley Prahova Valley (Romanian: ''Valea Prahovei'') is the valley where the Prahova river makes its way between the Bucegi and the Baiu Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. It is a tourist region, situated about north of the capital c ...

. Until the winter of 2002, Azuga was known as an industrial town. After that date, the town was turned into a resort to capitalize on the mountain landscape of the

. Shortly after, the Sorica slope was certified by the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

. Today, Azuga houses many hotels and hostels that provide accommodation for tourists. Accommodation in local homes can also be found for a lower price. The town formerly had several other factories including a beer factory, a glassware factory and a wool cloth factory, but those factories were demolished. The refractory materials factory, while still standing, is closed.

Natives

* Stelică Morcov (born 1951), light-heavyweight freestyle wrestler * Simona Păucă (born 1969), artistic gymnast *

Alexandru Vagner Alexandru Ion Vagner (19 August 1989 – 30 September 2022) was a Romanian footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent his entire career playing in Romania, having a total of 120 Liga I appearances with one goal scored and 62 Liga II appeara ...

(1989–2022), footballer * Gheorghe Voicu (born 1950), biathlete * Ion Zangor (1938–1973), bobsledder

Climate

Azuga has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Tourism

The town is an emerging ski resort, with extensive development in tourism infrastructure. Sorica is a ski slope with a length of over and a vertical drop of . The slope is recommended for both beginners and experienced skiers. There are also two slopes descending the Cazacu Mountain, one is long (with a drop of 530 m) and the other, more suitable for beginners, is long, with a drop of 115 m. Slopes are equipped with ski lifts and a Leitner gondola lift, which goes to the top of Sorica slope, allowing skiers to choose between the two main slopes (access to Cazacu slope requires some tens of meters of ascending, possibly by a small ski lift). Because of the almost constant winds on the ridge during winter, the uppermost station is a few meters below the top. A higher station would have likely had icing issues, making morning startups difficult as sometimes the only alternative is the snow groomer - snowmobiles not being able to travel in fresh high snow. In the summer, Azuga is a hiking destination, being a starting point for trips to various mountain destinations in

Predeal Predeal (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Muntenia, Romania. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, Muntenia at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâu ...

Bușteni Bușteni () is a small mountain town in the north of Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi Mountains, that have a maximum altitude of . Its name literally means Logging, tree-logs in Ro ...

, or

Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...

. Unpaved

forest road left, alt=Pathway through forest., Concrete pathway through deep forest in India. Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, ...

s attract many bicycle enthusiasts, who can ride along the Azuga River, which is peppered with small wooden

artificial waterfall An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall. Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic ...

s that oxygenate the water for the many

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

s that naturally populate the river.

References

{{Prahova County Towns in Romania Prahova Valley Populated places in Prahova County Ski areas and resorts in Romania Localities in Muntenia