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# Piatra Craiului Mountains, Romania - the ridge
- URL: https://hikingbeast.com/northern-piatra-craiului-ridge/
- Published: 2021-03-13T12:02:21.000Z
- Updated: 2021-03-13T15:30:55.000Z
- Author: Alex
- Tags: Piatra Craiului, ridge, scrambling, hard, #portfolio

****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](https://hikingbeast.com/botorog-fountain-curmatura-chalet-piatra-craiului-mountains-romania/). 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](https://hikingbeast.com/la-lanturi-piatra-craiului/). 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).