Mountain trails · Călimani Mountains

Dornișoara – Izvoarele Dornei – Poiana Izvoarelor junction

Waymarkingyellow dot
EffortModerate
TechnicalModerate
TypeTraverse A → B
Duration4–4½ hours
Ascent+640 m

A linear trail: you start in one place and finish in another. Either walk back the same way, leave a car at the far end or use the train/a transfer; we'll tell you at the gate what works.

Daylight · Dornișoara · today,

  • Sunrise 07:07
  • Sunset 16:59
  • Daylight 9 h 51 min −2 min vs yesterday

The times are for the starting point. Between ridges the light goes earlier than the clock says, so turn back a good hour before sunset.

Weather · Dornișoara · today,

5° min -3° cloudy
  • Precipitation0%
  • Wind8 km/h · gusts 21
  • UV index2,6
  • Elevation1.035 m
  • Fri 4° -4°
  • Sat 3° -5°
  • Sun 6° -5°
  • Mon 7° -3°
  • Tue 6° -3°

The forecast is for where you set off. Up on the ridge, count on a few degrees less and on wind you cannot see from below.

What the walking is like

A quiet climb along the Dorna, from its springs to Poiana Izvoarelor, the crossroads of trails below the caldera. No special gear, open all year; a gentle way into the Călimani.

Mountain trail

  1. Dornișoara · 900 m
  2. Izvoarele Dornei
  3. Poiana Izvoarelor · 1,540 m · water

What we'd tell you at the gate

  • Poiana Izvoarelor has water and is a trail hub: from here you can continue to Rețitiș or to Gruiu.

Elevation profile

900 m1,540 m
Dornișoara (landmark: the village centre; the marked start is at the exit towards the mountain)+640 m of ascent · 4–4½ hours

Not to miss on the way

  • 1

    Călimani National Park covers over 24,000 hectares and is the only protected area covering a whole massif in the county.

What else you can do on the trail

  • Ski touring in winter, on the open ridges (only with experience and avalanche kit).
  • 🐴 Horse riding: tours from Gura Haitii and Poiana Negrii.
  • Mountain biking on the old logging roads from Gura Haitii.

What grows and what moves along the trail

Flora

  • dwarf pine and juniper on the plateaus
  • mountain peony at Iezerul Călimanului (reserve)
  • blueberry and cranberry on the subalpine meadows
  • spruce up to 1,700 m, then alpine zone

Fauna

  • Carpathian red deer and chamois (reintroduced in the Călimani)
  • brown bear, wolf, lynx
  • capercaillie in the spruce stands

The species above are those documented in the area by the protected-area administration; what you see depends on season, hour and luck.

How long it takes, honestly

A linear trail: the time is one way (A → B). If you return the same way, add about two thirds; or leave a car at the far end / take the train. The duration is the one in Suceava County's official guide (Salvamont); the kilometres and driving minutes to the trailhead are from Google Maps.

  • 4–4½ hoursone way, A to B, at your usual pace
  • 3 hoursback the same way (estimate)
  • 7–7½ hoursout and back, with short breaks
  • 6–7 hoursone way, if you stop for photos and eat on the grass
  • 7–8 hoursone way, with children, grandparents or a pack full of “just in case”

Sleep at the foot of the mountain

Start from the gate, not from a car park

La Cuib is 80 minutes by car from the start of this trail: a fully equipped kitchen that is yours from first light, a place to dry boots, a garden for the evening. Three nights, the whole house, 1.797 lei.

We checked all of this in .

If you liked this one

A few more in the Munții Călimani

All 9 trails in the Munții Călimani

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Once you're back down

Sleep twenty minutes from the trail.

The whole house is yours: wet boots by the door, packs in the hall, a late dinner. Parking in the yard and an early start, without waking anyone.

799 lei a night on Booking 599 lei / night See available dates