Visit the Semenic – Cheile Carașului National Park!

If you are looking for a nice and relaxing weekend or just a few days away from the city then the Semenic – Cheile Carașului National Park is the perfect destination. There are ample opportunities for fun here no matter what you enjoy and most activities have a difficulty level of easy-medium. Read below the list of sights and activities this park has to offer.

Best road to Semenic – Cheile Carasului National Park

Highlights in Semenic – Cheile Carasului National Park

• Highest mountain peak is Piatra Goznei with 1447 m.
• Over 100 km of hiking trails.
• The area has a climate with Mediterranean influences that enabled the development of more than 30 species of orchids.
• Cheile Carașului (Caras Gorges) are among the wildest gorges in Romania (19 km long of which 10 km are visitable) that sometimes have a depth of more than 200 m.
• The deepest pit-cave of the Banat region with a depth of 236 m.
• One of the largest semi-virgin forests in Europe with trees older than 350 years.
• The outer region of the park has many agro-touristic accommodations and restaurants that are highly appreciated and visited by tourists.

Good to know

• During the winter season you can ski.
• Semenic is a pretty known spot for enduro trails, downhill and other sports on two wheels with or without a motor.
• Semenic National Park includes the Văliug and Trei Ape artificial lakes. These offer different touristic possibilities from renting boats and pedal boats to swimming or sunbathing. And as an extra activity, for those interested, there is a very nice pontoon on Valiug and often in the weekends you can attend really nice parties.
• If we are talking about hiking there are some routes, especially in the Caras Gorges, Anina Mountains, Semenic. They are quite easy being situated at moderate altitudes. You can find a map with some of the routes here.
• Speleological tourism – you have a great number of caves available for exploring  like Azuga, Ţolosu, Peştera Liliecilor, Văleaga, De sub cetate and more.
• During the summer you can also enjoy nice music at the Garana Jazz Festival, an international event with over 18 editions so far.
• If it’s warm outside you might want to take the time and go on a trip on the oldest railroad in Romania, the Oravita – Anina route (also called the Semmering of Banat). You will be seated in passenger cars built in 1914 and if you are lucky you might even be powered by a 19th-century steam engine. The trip takes almost 3 hours for the 40 km distance because of the steep slopes (your speed will be around 17km/h). For more information please check this link.

Stuff to do

• The area is very generous in terms of tourism and sporting activities that include: speleology, canyoning, rappelling, rafting, zip lining, horseback riding, hiking and cycling.
• Talking about hiking the routes in this area are pretty easy with low altitude differences from the start to end of each track. For an overview of the hiking trails please consult this map. In this link you can find all official track with details, marking and time, but unfortunately the page is only in Romanian so you will need G Translator

Average temperatures in Semenic – Cheile Carasului National Park

• The annual average temperatures are about 4-6 degrees Celsius based on altitude. Usually in the summer you can expect around 20 to 25°C and in winter you will have -5°C to 0°C degrees during the day. Check YR for the current weather condition in Muntii Semenicului.

If you have been in this park let us know what you most liked, what would you recommend or  simply what was your adventure there. Just drop a comment below!

Happy trails!

Road to Semenic – Foto by Iulian Gangal

Small village in Semenic National Park

Trei Ape Lake – Foto by Iulian Gangal

Valiug Lake

Foto by Iulian Gangal

Oldest Railroad in Romania

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