The Piatra Craiului Mountains (german: Königstein, hu, Királykő-hegység) are a mountain range in the Southern Carpathians in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Its name is translated as ''Kings' Rock'' or ''The Rock of the Prince''. The mountain range is located in Brașov and Argeș counties; it is included in the Piatra Craiului National Park, which covers an area of . The Piatra Craiului mountains form a narrow and saw-like

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

, which is about long. The highest elevation in the massif is the "Vârful La Om" at . The ridge is regarded as one of the most beautiful sites in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

. The two-day north–south ridge trail is both challenging and rewarding. Starting at either Plaiul Foii in the north-west or Curmătura in the north-east, walkers climb up to the ridge before following a somewhat precarious path along the narrow spine. The descent at the southern end leads into a

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

landscape of deep gorges and pitted slopes where water penetrating the rock has carved a series of caves.

Location

The massif is bordered in the west by the Dâmbovița Valley which separates it from the Iezer–Păpușa massif; in the north-west the river Bârsa and Curmătura Foii separates it from the Făgăraș Mountains and in the east the

Rucăr-Bran Pass The Rucăr-Bran Pass, also called in English the Bran Pass (german: Törzburger Pass, hu, Törcsvári-szoros), is a mountain pass in Romania, linking the counties of Brașov and Argeș. It has some of the most spectacular natural views in Roma ...

delimits it from the Bucegi and Leaotă mountains. The southern border is the confluence of the valleys of Dâmbovița and Dâmbovicioara rivers, in the Podul Dâmboviței depression.

Nature protection

The whole range is included in the national park ''Parcul Național Piatra Craiului'' (Piatra Craiului National Park). The first protection of this area started in 1938 when were declared as a "Nature Reserve". The Law 5/2000 enlarged this area to . In 2003 the external limits and internal zoning were created. Since 1999 a park administration has existed and since 2005 a management plan has been in place. In the national park area about 300

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

species, 220

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

es, 1100 species of superior plants (a third of the number of all plant species found in Romania), 50 Carpathians

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species and also two endemic species for Piatra Craiului can be found. There are also two endemic species of spiders, 270

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

species,

amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...

s, 110 bird species (50 listed in the Bern Convention and 6 in the Bonn Convention), 17 bat species,

chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the R ...

and other large herbivores and also many large carnivores (

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is k ...

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

) living in the national park.

Access

Zărnești is the most important town for visiting the national park. It is also an ideal starting point for approaches in the northern part of the massif. This town lies at a distance of from the city of Brașov, by road, bus or railway. From Zărnești, an long road makes the connection with the chalet "Plaiul Foii", which is a good starting point for climbing the ridge. Also, from Zărnești a forest road starts from the south-western part of the town, leading through the Zărnești Gorges ( Prăpăstiile) and further up to the ridge. The administrative office of the National Park is located in Zărnești; a new visitor center has been built west of the town. The traditional villages Măgura, Peștera, Ciocanu, and Șirnea are interesting starting points for the routes on the eastern slope and for getting in touch with the traditional Romanian way of life. Măgura has views towards the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains.

Activities

One of the most common activities in Piatra Craiului is trekking. "Prăpăstiile Zărneștilor" gorge is one of the most visited sights in the massif. Also because of its tall, steep walls, it is also very suitable for mountain climbing. In early October a trail-running competition takes place in Piatra Craiului National Park; the Piatra Craiului Marathon is both beautiful and hard, with a length of and elevation gain of .

In popular culture

* The 2003 movie Cold Mountain, starring Nicole Kidman and

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

was shot in Prăpastiile Zărneștiului, a gorge which is the starting point for most trails towards Piatra Craiului.

References

External links

Piatra Craiului National Park homepage
{{authority control Mountain ranges of Romania National parks of Romania Mountain ranges of the Southern Carpathians Protected areas established in 1938 Ridges of Europe Geography of Brașov County Tourist attractions in Brașov County Zărnești