A group of tourists in the Retezat Mountains had an unforgettable sunset on the ridges of the massif. Travelers witnessed a rare optical phenomenon called the “Glory Effect”.
Sunset in Retezat. Photo: Dorela Murărasu. Facebook.
A group of tourists captured in images one of the rare optical phenomena that happened in the Retezat Mountains. The photos published by Dorela Murărașu show how spectacular the sunsets can be seen from the crests of some of the most spectacular mountains in Romania.
“According to the specialists, the Glory Effect is also called the Mountain Spectre, or the Brocken Spectre. Under favorable conditions, the observer’s shadow is projected onto the fog. Tiny water droplets reflect sunlight back to it, forming a colorful nimbus around the shadow. Rare conditions refer to the refraction and dispersion of light when the sun, located behind the observer, casts its shadow on a cloud or fog located lower than its position, and the said cloud consists of water droplets with a diameter of in a well specified interval. My mountain love, Retezat, gave me Glory today“, writes Dorela Murărașu, the author of the photos, on her Facebook page.
Gloria effect in Retezat. Photo: Dorela Murărasu.
Over time, Retezat has offered its guests the opportunity to witness some unusual phenomena.
Breathtaking views appeared to some of those who climbed its ridges, which reach heights of over 2,500 meters, and other Romanians went through moments that they could hardly explain.
The spectacular optical phenomenon of the summer of 1991
In the summer of 1991, several travelers from Retezat witnessed extremely rare optical phenomena. Some tourists and mountain rescuers reported about the light show that covered the sky above Rele Valley in Retezat.
“First there was a light, appearing out of the blue, out of the darkness. Then the lights multiplied, rose above the mist-covered valley. The picture resembled a city seen at night from a great height. What was downright hallucinatory just followed: the lights arranged themselves in a circle, then in a rectangle, forming squares, and, finally, they aligned in parallel, after which they disappeared, without noise, as they also appeared, rising“, said mountain rescuer George Resiga, quoted in the former local newspaper “Zori Noi”, in August 1991.
The unusual phenomenon was watched, for about 15 minutes, from the Bucurii hill. “Walking and spending the night, many times, in the mountains I saw a lot. And meteorites, and ball lightning. But what I saw now is hard to define. That it was a UFO, I could not say, because it was not a specific, distinct body, But everything was extraordinary“, added the mountain rescuer Martin Domokoş, also participating in the expedition from Retezat.
Strange testimonies about Retezat
Other mountain travelers also witnessed strange phenomena. They reported that, in some areas of Retezatul Mic, the calcareous region of the massif, they heard the rumbling of underground rivers that flow in the depths of the mountain.
Gloria effect in Retezat. Photo: Dorela Murărasu.
Retezat has sparked the imagination of locals and tourists alike, becoming a place of legends, but even some scientists have gotten caught up in the mirage of Retezat. Some researchers supported the hypothesis that the Retezat peak (2,485 meters) would have had a close connection with the position of the sanctuaries in Sarmizegetusa Regia and would even have been “carved” in ancient times for religious and astrological reasons.
Other authors claimed that the Retezat would, in fact, represent a huge energy pyramid, established many years ago by humans or extraterrestrial civilizations and explored by the Getic deity Zamolxis.
Image 1/7:
The Gloria effect in Retezat, Photo Daniela Murărașu 5 jpg
And the Peleaga Peak (2,509) was likened to a pyramid. Others stated that Lake Bucura would be the base of an energy pyramid, formed by the tops of three mountains that surround its waters, and that paranormal phenomena would occur here, because a magnetic field is formed.
Scientists rejected the fanciful hypotheses launched about the alleged pyramid in Retezat, but their story became credible for some of those who arrive in Retezat and who reported that they felt the “energy of the mountain”.
