Poiana Negrii – 12 Apostoli hermitage – 12 Apostoli Peak – Gura Haitii – Călimanul Cerbului Peak

What the walking is like

A two-day traverse through the heart of the Călimani: from Poiana Negrii to the hermitage below the 12 Apostoli, across the plateau with the statue-rocks, then down to Gura Haitii and up Călimanul Cerbului. Tent in the pack, two stages.

What we'd tell you at the gate

• The 12 Apostoli hermitage is a resting place; services in summer.
• The second leg (Gura Haitii – Călimanul Cerbului) can be left for another day.
• The elevation gain in the guide (1,173 m) is the total of the two climbs: to the 12 Apostoli and, the next day, up Călimanul Cerbului.

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.

• 2

  The 12 Apostoli reserve: volcanic rocks sculpted by wind and frost into the shapes of a bearded old man, a bear with its head bowed, a woman; unique in Bucovina.

• 3

  The former sulphur mine at Gura Haitii, closed after 1990, left a lunar landscape that is slowly recovering.

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

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 multi-day linear trail: the time is for the whole route A → B, in two or three stages, with a tent or with guesthouses in the villages along the way. The duration is the one in Suceava County's official guide (Salvamont); the kilometres and driving minutes to the trailhead are from Google Maps.

• 12 hoursone way, A to B, at your usual pace
• n/aback the same way (estimate)
• 12 hoursout and back, with short breaks
• 16–18 hoursone way, if you stop for photos and eat on the grass
• 18–22 hoursone way, with children, grandparents or a pack full of “just in case”