There are still places in Romania where time seems to stand still and the modern world with all its tumult and strife seems so far away that it is seen as another dimension. There are places where the joy of looking, listening, feeling… is still present, where man is still in communion with the surrounding nature, where life follows its unchanged course for centuries. There are still stubborn people, or maybe just pure souls, who remain attached to these places and refuse to descend into the wild world beyond the hills and forests!
A foray into such a destination is more than a travel experience, it is a life lesson and a return to the archaic world, a discovery of the things that really matter. Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard we work to have things, we will never get to be truly happy. If we have come to be impressed and surprised by places where the noise and bustle of civilization are not heard, it means that we have forgotten to be human and are slowly becoming robots in an era of technology and speed… Such places blessed by nature and preserved by their very inaccessibility are the isolated villages of the Cerna Mountains, and in the following I propose you to discover them through a few photos.
The villages of Ineleț and Scarișoara are some of the most difficult-to-access settlements in Romania, becoming somewhat famous for the wooden stairs that the few remaining villagers have to climb up the mountain to get home. In reality there is at least one other path that climbs the steep slopes of the mountain to reach these destinations, but the other routes are longer and in some places more difficult than the well-known stairs. If you are in Cerna Valley and want to reach the villages of Ineleț and Scărișoara, you must know from the start that the road will be difficult and in some places dangerous. The first and most interesting route starts a few kilometers south of the junction of DN67D and DN66A.
Stop the car in front of a concrete bus station that seems abandoned, and going down to the river you will see a bridge that crosses the Cerna. Following the path beyond, you will arrive after a few minutes of challenging ascent in front of a steep ridge. Suspended in a dizzying sequence and in a seemingly precarious balance, the wooden ladders, however firmly attached to the rock, are the only way forward. If you dare to pass this obstacle, the rest of the way continues to climb, but through forests and mountain glades. After about an hour from the valley, following the red triangle tourist marker, you will reach the church of Ineleț, hanging on the ridge of the mountain next to its small cemetery. From here, you will have the first truly impressive view of the Cerna valley to the north, up to the high ridges of the Godeanu and Retezat mountains.
From the church, if you go to the right on the path, you can see in the distance the few houses scattered on the hills that make up the village of Scarișoara. From the church to the left, the path continues among the households of Ineleț village, at one point passing by the small building that was once a school. I don’t know how many children are still in these dreamy places, but so far from the other world with all its mirages. Although more and more intrepid travelers have discovered the villages of Ineleț and Scărișoara, they still remain unchanged, and the villagers live as they did perhaps a century ago, with mostly the things they produce. The difficult road means that many go down to the valley very rarely, the old ones maybe never in the last 5-10 years.
Domogled National Park – Cernei Valley stretches along the Cerna river valley and the surrounding peaks, which belong to the Godeanu, Vâlcan, Mehedinți and Cerna mountains, with a total area of over 600 square kilometers. Inside the park we find a lot of tourist routes, mostly very well maintained and marked, facilitating access to most attractions. A complex and stunning destination, the national park is a spectacular combination of high mountain ridges, narrow canyons, limestone peaks, endless forests, isolated hamlets, idyllic waterfalls and exceptional biodiversity. Cerna’s story is a turbulent one, but one so wonderful that words often fail to do it justice. Although constantly fighting the mountains since birth, he still found his way quite smoothly among them, always seeking the call of the Danube. Wedged between the precipitous peaks of Godean, Vâlcan, Mehedintil and Cerna, the river is rarely caressed by the sun’s rays, which hardly break through the dry rocks and the lush vegetation on the banks!
I have visited the village of Ineleț several times, somewhat by accident always in April, and the landscape is hard to describe in words. Flowering trees in the midst of green hilltops, flocks of sheep with lambs grazing in the meadows and distant panoramas of the still snow-capped peaks create an idyllic setting that you have to discover there… We met few people following the route through the village and did not dare to disturb them from the work of the land, but if you have more time, it is worth entering into a conversation with them to learn their incredible stories. About two years ago I also met a family that had moved here from a busy city to give the children a real and clean childhood.
The truth is, in the ten years since I first arrived here, places have changed, even if the charming atmosphere can still often be found. Although once known only for occasional hikers, the villages have now become much more lively in the warm season, with the Via Transilvanica route passing here with its travelers from all corners of the world. Along with them, the people here also began to slowly build bridges with civilization. Some now offer accommodation and traditional food, while others sell their authentic products along the hilltop trail. The hiking paths continue through other more distant villages (Cracu Mare, Prisăcina, Dobraia) and then pass over the top of the Cernei mountains, but we haven’t reached that far yet…
The Cornereva commune has 40 villages scattered on the tops of the Cernei mountains, with a total population of about 2,700 people, and many of these villages have only a few isolated houses and a few old men who contemplate the world from the top of the mountain!
On the way back, you can follow the same route on the wooden stairs, but there is also another tourist trail that descends into the valley, even steeper in places. If you want to avoid the stairs, it’s a good alternative, but you’ll end up about 3 kilometers south of the first footbridge and have to walk back to your car. None of the roads are easy and you need to be in decent physical condition to be able to reach the villages of Ineleț and Scărișoara in 1-2 hours from the Cerna valley. There are plenty of other hiking trails nearby to other gorgeous attractions in the Cernei Mountains and the national park they are part of, making it a great vacation destination. The truth is that these places seem so unreal and fragile that I have written this article with difficulty, with the hope that they will remain so for a long time to come, and only true travelers will choose to discover them, with responsibility for as little influence on their authenticity as possible…
Accommodation Options on the Cerna Valley
rating 9.3 from 137 reviews!
Located in a superb area of Valea Cernei, a few kilometers north of Baile Herculane, the prestigious guesthouse offers superior rooms, restaurant and spa!
rating 9.5 from 94 reviews!
Located near the trails that go up from Valea Cernei to the isolated villages, this popular guesthouse offers accommodation in welcoming rooms, a restaurant and a garden!
rating 9.0 from 132 reviews!
Located in the center of Baile Herculane resort, this excellent hotel offers accommodation in perfectly equipped rooms, terrace, bar and breakfast every morning!