Romania Photo of the Day by Dreamstime: Cozia National Park in autumn colors

The Romania Photo of the Day created in partnership with stock photo provider Dreamstime aims to highlight the best of Romania. From stunning landscapes and popular tourist destinations and landmarks to people, traditions, and food, this series helps you discover Romania one photo at a time. This week, we put the focus on beautiful Romanian landscapes in autumn colors.

Located in the central part of the Southern Carpathians, the Cozia National Park is a uniquely beautiful place, worth visiting for both its scenery and its history. (Photo source - click on the number to get to the photo 1038351 © Rechitan Sorin | Dreamstime.com)

Covering over 17,000 hectares, the park includes the eastern part of the Căpățânii Mountains, the entire Cozia massif, and the south-eastern part of the Lotrului Mountains, according to Libertatea. It has been declared a protected area, and the Călinești-Brezoi Forest and Ocnele Mari nature reserves are located here.

Cozia, the mountain of vigil, shelter, and refuge during invasions and wars, says cozia.ro, derives its name either from the Cuman word koz (walnut) that the Turks gave the mountain covered with walnut groves or from the Slavic word nkoz (goat), respectively kozie (of the goat). Some geographers and historians, struck by the individuality of Mount Cozia and the grandeur of its many stone faces, believe that it is none other than the holy mountain of the Geto-Dacians – Kogenon.

Cozia National Park is a mountain area with great geological and geomorphological diversity. Many caves, valleys, forests, meadows, limestone ridges and more can be found here, says Libertatea. Among the animals that call the park home are the brown bear, the lynx, the wolf, and the broad-eared bat.

There is much to do in the area: hiking, nature walks, camping, and various sports such as climbing, cycling, parachute jumping, and paragliding.