Mountain trails to walk in Bacău county. Where are the virgin forests PHOTO

In Bacău, there are numerous routes made by mountain lovers, the paths crossing virgin forests and reaching high peaks, but also accessible to amateurs.

Mountain hiking lovers have at their disposal 17 marked and approved routes in Bacău County, most of them in the Nemirei and Ciuc Mountains.

Unlike Neamț and Suceava counties, which attract tourists through major sights such as Ceahlăul, Cheile Bicazului or Pietrele Doamnei din Rărau, the mountain tourist core of Bacău county is centered on the resort of national interest Slănic Moldova and the beauty of virgin forests in the mountains.

From here you can reach Nemira Mare, Vârful Cerbului, Plaiul Ciungetului, Saua Nemirei, Vârful Şandru, located near the border with Covasna county.

No mountain peak in Bacău county reaches 1,700 meters. The highest, from north to south, are Grindusul (1,664 m, from the Tarcău Mountains), Ciudomiru Peak (1,649 m), Cărunta Peak (1,517 m), Nemira Mare (1,648 m) and Şandru Mare (1,639 m).

Balti Nemira, landscapes that take your breath away

One of the most beautiful mountain roads is the mountain route marked with a yellow cross, between Vârful Nemira Mare and Plaiul Ciungetului. It crosses Valea Ciungetului, Plaiul Ciungetului, Bălțile Nemirei – two spectacular lakes formed on a sliding step from the eastern slope of Nemira Mari, towards Vârful Nemira Mare (1,648 m).

The route intersects with another road marked with a yellow line, which takes almost 10 hours, starting from Slănic Moldova, towards Mount Pufu, La Sălărie, Mount Cleja, La strigoi, La Argintărie, Plaiul Ciungetului, Streaja Mică, Lake Bălătau and, at the end, Sălătruc.

The departure starts from the opposite side of the entrance to the “300 stairs” route from Slănic Moldova: “After about an hour of walking we bypass Pufu Peak (1,047 m) and suddenly change direction, we descend to the west, pass by the forestry canton and exit at the bridge over the Dofteana river, in Poiana La Sălărie (610 m). We continue our route climbing on the leg on the right side.

After about an hour we reach the top of Mount Cleja and continue our way down to the northwest to take the forest road on the bank of the Ciunget stream, from where we engage in the serpentines that take us uphill on the southern slopes of the Ciunget Peak, and at its bend, next to a footbridge, we leave it to follow a path that takes us to the summit in about ten minutes. We follow the path from Plaiul Ciungetului in the northeast direction.

After about two hours, the marker suddenly descends from the peaks to the west in the Izvorul Negru valley. The path descends an inclined slope, among rock blocks in the forest, passes by a pond and takes us to the forest road from Izvorul Negru, near Lake Bălătău”it is shown in the description of the route, made by the mountain rescuers of the County Public Service for the Promotion of Tourism and the Coordination of Bacău Rescue Activity.

Starting point: Slănic Moldova

Another spectacular route is the “Nemirei Saddle”, departing from Slănic Moldova, through the Pufu Valley, Vârful La Cireș. And for this route, of medium difficulty, you need physical condition and clothing suitable for the season. One of the easiest routes is the road leading to the plateau below Vârful Cerbul – it is marked in red and takes half an hour.

The “300 stairs” route starts from the Slănic Moldova resort and reaches Culmea Dobrului – Slănic Moldova tourist stop. It is one of the easiest and can be completed in two hours. The route from Slănic Moldova-Valea Uzului, marked with a blue stripe, has an average difficulty and takes about 10 hours, for which a good physical condition is required.

The first stop, after leaving the resort, is Culmea Căprioarei, then Vârful Şandru Mare, Şaua Nemirei, Vârful Nemira Mare, Vârful Farcu Mare, Vârful Farcu Mic, and finally you reach the Nasolea Mare waterfall from Valea Uzului.

Hiking over a thousand meters

To promote the movement and the tourist potential, the employees from the County Public Service for the Promotion of Tourism are also involved in the organization of mountain excursions.

Furthermore, other routes are being approved. Such a road, in the Ciucului Mountains, passes through Păstrăvăria “Cărunta” from Valea Ciobănușului (approximately 14.5 km from DN 12A, Asău commune, Ciobanuș village) to Șolintar Lake.

On this route (marked with a yellow triangle) you reach the Şolintar Lake, an almost circular body of water, with a diameter of about 30 meters, fed sporadically by the waters that flow from the southern slope of the peak, coming from the rains and from melting snow.

There the road intersects with the route that crosses the peak between the Cărunta and Viscol peaks (marked with a red cross).

Another route, in the process of approval, connects Asău commune, Osoi lake, Preluca Tâlharului peak and Muncelu peak, from the Tarcăului Mountains, at an altitude of 1,288 m. The departure is from the center of Asău commune, on the blue tape marking, and from Vârful Muncelu descend on the marking with the red triangle. The length of the road with medium difficulty is 18 km, and the walking time is at least 7 hours.

25 quasi-virgin forest bodies from Bacău county are included in the 2023 National Catalog of virgin and quasi-virgin forests of the Ministry of the Environment.

Most are in Ocolul silvic Oituz and a few are in Padurea Dobrele-Fata Mortă and two in Padurea Păcura. Bacău County has 267,000 hectares of forest and a very large population of bears and wolves.

Most of the forests are in the western part of the county, in the area of ​​the Eastern Carpathians and the Subcarpathian hills.