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 · Tihuța Pass · today,
Sunrise07:02
Sunset19:24
Daylight12 h 21 min−3 min vs yesterday
Until sunset–
Times for the trailhead. Between the ridges it gets dark earlier: turn back an hour before sunset.
Weather · Tihuța Pass · today,
18°min 8°fog
Precipitation0%
Wind10 km/h · gusts 31
UV index5,1
Elevation1.017 m
Mon13°7°
Tue9°5°
Wed9°4°
Thu9°5°
Fri14°4°
Forecast for the trailhead. On the ridge it is colder and windier.
What the walking is like
The Călimani's main ridge route, from Tihuța to Păltiniș Pass, over the massif's highest peak, Pietrosul Călimani (2,100 m). Two days with a tent, through the largest volcanic country in the Carpathians. Not for a first mountain outing, but one of the country's great trails.
Mountain trail
Tihuța Pass · 1,200 m
Străcior Peak
Coada Bistriciorului
Gruiu Monument
Pietrosul Călimani Peak · 2,100 m
Rețitiș Peak · 2,021 m
Iezerul Călimanului
Păltiniș Pass
What we'd tell you at the gate
Two stages; a tent is compulsory.
The Gruiu Monument commemorates the pioneers of mountain tourism in the area.
The ridge is exposed to wind and storms: check the forecast, start early.
Elevation profile
Tihuța Pass+1.000 m of ascent · 15–16 ore
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
Iezerul Călimanului is a natural dam lake, a reserve of over 300 hectares, with mountain peony and dwarf pine.
3
The Tihu waterfall, almost 8 m high, is the viewpoint on the Tihu stream.
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 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.
15–16 hoursone way, A to B, at your usual pace
n/aback the same way (estimate)
15–16 hoursout and back, with short breaks
21–24 hoursone way, if you stop for photos and eat on the grass
24–29 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 73 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.
Via Transilvanica