Cabana Izvorul Muntelui – Poiana Maicilor – Platoul Ocolașului Mic – Cabana Dochia

What the walking is like

The park administration calls it one of the finest routes in Ceahlău, and it has 1,220 m of ascent over 6.9 km. It passes the park visitor centre, cuts two bends of the county road and takes to the path along the Maicilor stream. After almost an hour it crosses the stream and climbs harder to Poiana Maicilor at 1,321 m, where it meets trail 6 coming from the Bicaz valley. It is worth walking back a few steps along the saddle, towards an old shepherd's fold: from there you see the wall below the Ocolașul Mic plateau, scored with gullies and dark chimneys, its crenellated crest marked by towers, Turnul lui Butu și Ana, Turnul Crucii, Căciula lui Ciupercă, Vânturișul.

What we'd tell you at the gate

• Trail 3 in the official list of the Ceahlău National Park.
• Waymarking: red stripe.
• Official time: 4 h 30 min – 5 h up, 3 h down.
• Elevation gain 1220 m, length 6.9 km, difficulty mediu, figures published by the park authority.
• The biggest elevation gain of the trails starting from Izvorul Muntelui.
• The park authority publishes no winter note for this trail: ask at the park before you go.
• The waymarking, times, elevation gain and length are those published by the Ceahlău National Park authority. The driving distance from La Cuib is calculated on the OpenStreetMap road network.

Not to miss on the way

• 1

  Where the forest ends, on the right of the path, two conglomerate pinnacles rise like haystacks: the Clăile lui Miron. The larger one climbs out of Jgheabul Clailor to 1,650 m.

• 2

  From Poiana Maicilor to the hut the route runs together with trail 6, marked with a blue cross.

• 3

  In winter the park authority advises against the stretch from Poiana Maicilor to the Dochia hut.

What else you can do on the trail

• 🏔 Toaca peak, 1,904 m, with its metal steps and the weather station.
• The Duruitoarea waterfall, a protected natural monument, on trail 5.
• The scientific reserves of Polița cu Crini and Ocolașul Mare, and the botanical ones at Toaca and Gardul Stănilelor.
• 🏛 The Ceahlău National Park visitor centre, in Durău.

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

The times, waymarking, elevation gain and length are published by the Ceahlău National Park authority.

• 4 h 30 min – 5 hone way, to the top, at your usual pace
• 3 hback the same way (estimate)
• 4 h 30 min – 5 h up, 3 h downout and back, with short breaks
• 4 h 30 min – 5 hone way, if you stop for photos and eat on the grass
• one way, with children, grandparents or a pack full of “just in case”