The Cascade Cailor from Maramureș brings around 200 tourists every day, during the warm season. No wonder, considering the spectacular beauty of the place and the fact that it is the highest waterfall in the country. Moreover, those who visit it can also learn the legend that accompanies this unique place.
Horse waterfall, Maramureș PHOTO Angela Sabău
There are several legends about the Cascada Cailor from Maramureș, but one of them has been perpetuated over time, being the most impressive of all. It is said that Piatra Rea was an excellent place for grazing, where horse breeders took their studs.
But the place was found by bears, who started attacking the studs. They, cornered at the edge of the precipice, fell into the pit. Legend has it that that waterfall was formed from the tears of shepherds who wept for their lost animals.
In addition, in addition to the waterfall that received this name, the whole area is named after these events preserved in local folklore: Mount of Horses, Bridge of Horses or Spring of Horses, all are names from the area of the valley where the waterfall was formed.
The legends of the highest waterfall in the country
“One night when a monstrous storm took over the whole sky, in which there was thunder and lightning, the bear came out hungry again, and the horses, being frightened by the attack of the animal, but also by the noises and the strong lights of the sky, tried to run away falling into the dangerous chasm. People say that that night they lost somewhere around 15 horses, and after the misfortune they decided to name the waterfall, Cascada Cailor. The place is, without a doubt, a place full of magic, horses being animals that inspire courage, grace and speed“, writes Claudiu Iușan, biologist at Rodnei Mountains National Park.
Cailor Waterfall is at an altitude of over 1,300 meters and the water falls from a height of over 90 meters, being fed by a glacial cirque that flows over the Cailor Bridge. It is a limestone cliff that falls in several steps, giving birth to what is today the highest waterfall in Romania.
Routes of medium difficulty
The best time to visit the waterfall is, according to experts, in the spring, because the flow of water is higher and offers a real spectacle to the viewer.
Cascade Cailor, located in the Rodnei Mountains National Park, is practically formed in an extended glacial caldera of the Pietrosul Rodnei and Piatra Albă peaks.
The water resulting from melting snow accumulates in the glacial cirque and from the steep slope of the Piatra Rea Reserve, the water tumbles down forming the spectacular waterfall. The water falls in three successive steps, one of 40 meters, another of 20 and then another one also of about 40 meters.
The Cascada Cailor can be reached from Borșa, by two paths. The simplest and used by most tourists is by chairlift, which leaves from the resort and the route takes about 15 minutes. Then about another 15 minutes on foot at a leisurely pace. The route is not difficult, and can be completed by people without much physical training.
The other possibility is on a tourist route of about an hour and a half, of medium difficulty.
