Discover Romania: Buzau and its fantastic landscapes

For this new getaway, Lepetitjournal.com takes you to meet the landscapes and legends that surround the region of Buzau. Follow our guide!

The rupestrian dwellings

The Buzau Mountains are an inexhaustible source of legends and mysteries, a place where history has left palpable traces in stone. There is a group of 29 rupestrian dwellings, some of them dating back to the Neolithic age, carved into the stones and shaped by the waters that descend into the valley. Hidden in the wildest parts of the forest, these places have served as living spaces or as sanctuaries since the earliest times. Many stories have been woven around them starting from mysterious disappearances, treasures hidden by the boyars, time travel… Both Christian and pre-Christian inscriptions are found on their walls. The place is also known as the “Romanian Mount Athos” because of the presence of many places of worship, monasteries or hermitages. One of the oldest elements is the “Fundul Pesterii” Cave inhabited before Christianity, whose walls include almost 200 inscriptions including Maltese crosses, daggers, arrows, and other specific signs of prehistoric stone art. Equally impressive is the Dionis cell, built in stone, which can only be accessed by a ladder but also the Church of Iosif dug in the fourth century.

To discover them you will have to use your sense of exploration because the routes are very poorly marked. However, these four routes knows as “Luana’s Way” (Drumul Luanei) can be of help.

The “living stones”

As they are strangely shaped, some compare them to flying saucers, turtle shells or perfectly spherical balls. They weigh from a few grams to several tons and some of them could even reach more than two meters in height. We speak about the “trovanti” of the region of Ulmet-Bozioru, 44 km from Buzau, hidden in the mountains of Buzau, nicknamed by the locals “Babele de la Ulmet” (The Old Women of Ulmet). These stones are formed by a very slow process of concretion thanks to the calcareous underground water.

Located on mountain ridges, these odd-shaped stones will give you the impression of returning to the origins of creation to contemplate the spectacle of the birth of humanity. The locals also call them “living stones” and believe they have many miraculous powers. According to them, they could even heal sadness; it’s enough to touch them to become happy immediately.