Piatra Craiului Mountains, Romania - the ridge
The ridge of the Piatra Craiului Mountains is rocky, narrow, sharp and spectacular. It offers great views over Magura village and Bucegi Mountains at the East and Fagaras Mountains at the West.
The northern part of the ridge lays between Varful La Om peak (South) and Varful Turnu peak (North). It’s a 4 hour hike from one peak to another in each direction.
It’s a difficult and technical hike, however you don’t need any special equipment, you just need to use your hands to hold on to the rocks.
It can be scary if you are a beginner hiker or if you are afraid of heights. It involves plenty of scrambling so it’s better not to carry a large backpack.
Important: there is no source of water on the ridge. Getting up to the ridge and down requires a lot of effort, so it’s recommended to take with you at least 3 liters of water for each person per day.
Quick info about Piatra Craiului Northern Ridge trail
- Starting point: Varful Turnu peak (1923 m)
- Destination: Varful La Om Peak (2238 m)
- Seasonality: May to November, only in good weather; mountaineering skills are required if the ridge is covered in snow
- Duration: 4.5h
- Length: ~4km
- Markings: red dot
- Difficulty: high (plenty of scrambling involved)
- Equipment: good hiking boots
- Closest accommodation unit to the start of the trail: Cabana Curmatura (1470 m)
- Closest town to the start of the trail: Zarnesti (9 km)
- Distance from Bucharest: 190 km (3-4h) by car
- Parking: free parking, 3 hours from the start of the trail on the side of the road, at Fantana lui Botorog
Piatra Craiului Northern Ridge trail description
Trail markings: red dot
Red dot: Varful Turnu Peak (1923 m) – 1h – Varful Ascutit Peak (2150 m)– 3h – Varful La Om peak (2238 m)
Getting to Piatra Craiului ridge from the Eastern side (Zarnesti)
Both trails described below start from Cabana Curmatura Chalet (1470 m). Find out how to get to Curmatura Chalet. The last source of water is at Cabana Curmatura Chalet.
The easiest way to get to the ridge is from Curmatura Chalet to Varful Ascutit Peak. It’s a 2.5h moderate but steep hike. From Cabana Curmatura Chalet follow the blue triangle (facing the chalet go to the left).
A more difficult and technical way that will get you at the start of Northern Piatra Craiului ridge is to follow the yellow bar markings to the right of Curmatura Chalet to Saua Crapaturii saddle and from there to Varful Turnu peak (1923 m).
Getting to Piatra Craiului ridge from the Western side (Plaiul Foii)
The most spectacular and technical way to get right at the middle of Piatra Craiului ridge is to start from Plaiul Foii Chalet (850m) and ascend to Varful La Om peak via La Lanturi (At the chains) trail. It’s a 4.5h technical hike. The last source of water is at Cabana Plaiul Foii Chalet.
Spending the night on the Northern Ridge
There are 2 bivouac refugees on the Northern Ridge. During the weekends they get crowded, so you may want to bring a tent with you just in case. One refuge is near Varful Ascutit peak (2150 m) and the other near Varful La Om peak (2238 m).
