The Domogled -
\nValea Cernei National Park is a protected area in southwestern Romania,
\nstretching across the territories of three counties, namely Caras-Severin,
\nMehedinti and Gorj. The Muntele Domogled Flower and Landscape Reserve, which is
\none of the park’s 11 reserves, was set up in 1932. 58 years later, in 1990, the
\narea was turned into the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park, covering over
\n61 thousand hectares. It is a mountain area with more than 30 tourist routes,
\nwith many caves, gullies, gorges, waterfalls, meadows, old forests and nature
\nreserves. The area is one of the rafting lovers’ favorite and also a perfect
\nspot for mountain climbers. <\/p>\n
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Mariana Pasarin is an expert with the Domogled -
\nValea Cernei National Park Administration and
\nshe told us more about the area:<\/p>\n
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Our park boasts a lot of attractions, some of
\nwhich are truly unique, such as its thermal caves. Others, shrouded in mystery,
\nare based on a number of legends about how they took shape. There are also
\nthermal caves that cannot be found anywhere else in Romania and that are very
\nrare at European and global level. One of these caves that is open to tourists
\nis the Steam Grotto, a wonder of speleology, with hot steam coming out of its
\nfissures. Also, the park is home to many forms of relief. Given the fact that
\nit is an area with a lot of limestone, it gets eroded easily, allowing for
\nvarious phenomena to occur. There are also waterfalls, such as Vanturatoarea
\nWaterfall, which is 40-meters high. What’s spectacular about it is the fact
\nthat tourists can see this waterfall also from behind, given the fact that the
\nmountain route leading to this waterfall allows it to be admired from both
\nsides. Another waterfall is Cociului Waterfall, the highest in the country,
\nmeasuring 120 meters.<\/p>\n
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The Domogled
\n– Valea Cernei National Park is the only such site in the country that
\ncomprises an entire river basin. Specifically, it is the basin of Cerna River
\nwith all its tributaries, and Cerna Valley is regarded as the most beautiful in
\nthe Carpathians. It is a lengthwise corridor separating 2 mountain ranges,
\na 40-km long gorge along the Cerna, bounded by thick deciduous and coniferous
\nforests. <\/p>\n
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Here is Mariana P\u0103s\u0103rin again:<\/p>\n
The spring of Cerna is called Izbucul Cernei, and it has the highest flow rate in
\nRomania, around 1.5 – 2 cubic metres per second, but when it rains it may even
\nreach 10 cubic metres per second, it is like a waterfall. Another interesting
\nfact about this spring is that it has a constant, 7 degree Celsius temperature
\naround the year, with variations below 1 degree. Two reservoirs are also
\nlocated along Cerna, the first and biggest of them, Lake Iovanul, is
\nbreathtakingly beautiful, and the second is Lake Herculane. Lots of hiking trails
\nawait travellers, especially around Herculane Spa resort. One of them leads to
\nthe White Cross, a very attractive site, particularly due to the legends around
\nhow and when this object was placed on these rocks, which is a complete
\nmystery. But beyond the legends, the spot has a great view over the entire
\nCerna Valley.<\/p>\n
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Over 2,000 ha of UNESCO-listed forests along Cerna Valley are included in the National Catalogue of Virgin and Quasi-Virgin
\nForests in Romania.The Park management is planning a
\nlarger-scale programme to promote this area, both by means of
\nadvertisements and on-site routes that tourists and organised groups may use in
\norder to cross these virgin forests, which are unique in Europe. This protected
\narea boasts over 1,100 flower species, and in terms of landscape the Domogled – Valea
\nCernei National Park stands out thanks to the smooth blend of karst relief and
\nvegetation. <\/p>\n
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Mariana P\u0103s\u0103rin explains:<\/p>\n
\n
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Visitors can find here the
\nBanat Black Pine, which is specific to
\nthe Park and is actually its symbol. It is a tree growing on rocks, which makes
\nit quite spectacular to look at. We wonder how its roots can grow and find
\nnutrients in those rocks. Many sub-Mediterranean species also grow here, and
\nthe route to the White Cross is peppered with rare species like the smoke tree
\n(Cotinus Coggygria), the Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna), sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Park staff are currently running a
\nproject where we create a theme route providing information for tourists on
\neach plant species. Many other plants growing here are also unique to this
\narea, for instance in the hot water caves there is a unique moss species. There
\nare also lots of butterflies, nearly 45% of all the moth and butterfly species
\ncan be found in our Park. In other words, the Domogled-Valea Cernei National
\nPark, which only accounts for 0.2% of the surface area of the country, is home
\nto half of Romania’s butterfly species. A tourist once said the area is rather
\njam-packed with butterflies.Of the mammal species, I’d mention the bear, the
\nwolf, the wildcat, the lynx, lots of bats in the caves, and I should add
\nthere are over 700 caves in the Park. There are deer, foxes, rabbits, scorpions
\nand the horned viper (vipera
\nammodites, a strictly protected species).<\/p>\n
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A major
\ntourist site on Cerna Valley, described by many as one of the wildest and most
\nspectacular places in the country, is the Corcoaia Gorges. Its 300-m long,
\n100-m tall walls, which come together as close as 5 metres at ground level,
\nrepresent the most beautiful form of relief on Cerna Valley.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park is a protected area in southwestern Romania, stretching across the territories of three counties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43423],"tags":[44151,44152],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-149305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travellers-guide","tag-domogled-valea-cernei-national-park","tag-mariana-pasarin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n