Mountain trails · Rarău–Giumalău Mountains
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 · Pojorâta station · today,
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 · Pojorâta station · today,
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 traverse from the Moldova valley to the Bistrița valley: 12 km on an improved road up the Izvorul Giumalăului valley to the Fundu Colbului saddle, where the red stripe comes down off Giumalău, then 15 km of forest road through the woods along the Colbu to Cabana Zugreni and the Bistrița gorge.
Mountain trail
Elevation profile
Giumalău stands at 1,857 m and is the highest peak around; from the top, on a clear day, you count six ranges: Rarău, the Obcini, Rodna, Călimani, Bistrița, Ceahlău. The subalpine meadow on the ridge is thick with blueberries in August.
The Zugreni gorge, at the foot of the trail, is the narrowest section of the Bistrița: walls over 200 m high, with the road and the river squeezed between them. Rafters stopped at the hut for hundreds of years, until the 1960s.
Flora
Fauna
The species above are those documented in the area by the protected-area administration; what you see depends on season, hour and luck.
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 official guide says 5–6 hours; at 27 km and +585 m, 6–7 hours is realistic. The duration is the one in Suceava County's official guide (Salvamont); the kilometres and driving minutes to the trailhead are from Google Maps.
Sleep at the foot of the mountain
La Cuib is 10 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.
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Once you're back down
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.
Via Transilvanica