The Babele
The famous rock formations on the Bucegi plateau, a short walk from the hotel.
Surroundings
The Bucegi, on foot
Around the hotel
Nature begins at the door
Hotel Peștera - Wellness & Spa is surrounded by three private parks and some of the best-known landmarks of the Carpathians. Mountain trails for every level start from here, and the Bucegi landmarks are just steps away.
The Babele, the Sphinx and the Ialomița Cave are within reach, either on foot or by the nearby cable car.
Right out front
Poiana Crucii Park
The park in front of the hotel, on Cocora mountain, a clearing that took its name from a wooden cross placed here by the monks of the Ialomița hermitage.
In this very place, the founders of the “Hanul Drumeților” began, a century ago, Romania’s first national park, a reserve around the first Han, in the Cocora spruce forest. Today’s park keeps, in the same place, the founders’ vision.
“National parks, that is gardens that belong to the whole nation and that the whole nation is duty-bound to care for.” Bucura Dumbravă, “Cartea Munților”The full story →
Next to the hotel
Andrei’s Park
The park next to the hotel, designed for relaxation and time spent together, outdoors, at 1,610 metres.
- The therapeutic walk: a barefoot path through nature, for the senses and balance.
- The campfire: evenings end around the fire, under the Bucegi sky.
- Christmas market: in winter, the park comes alive with the Christmas fair.
To the east
Cocora Park
To the east, in the spruce forest of Cocora mountain, lies the hotel’s third park, the one the Sunrise rooms look out on.
A more secluded, shaded corner, for a quiet walk among the firs, with the fresh, cool air of the coniferous forest, far from any bustle.
A few steps away
The Ialomița Cave & Hermitage
Just a few hundred metres from the hotel, in the Ialomița valley, the Ialomița Cave opens up, and at its mouth, one of the oldest mountain hermitages in the country.
By tradition, the hermitage was founded by Mihnea Vodă cel Rău in the 16th century; the first documentary record dates from 1752. It burned down and was rebuilt several times. Today’s church was raised in 1993-1996 by workers of the Fieni cement factory and consecrated in 1996 by Patriarch Teoctist.
At around 1,530 m altitude, the cave shelters several grottoes (Mihnea’s Grotto, Decebal’s Grotto, the Bear’s Grotto), with a constant temperature of about 5°C. It was here too, at the Ialomița Cave, that Bucura Dumbravă wrote “Cartea Munților” in 1923.
“The spirit of Romanian piety nestled in the hermitage set beneath the majestic vault of the cave in Bătrâna mountain, on the bank of the rushing Ialomița, which, greenish and clear, roars through a rock gorge some 200 metres high.” Bucura Dumbravă, “Cartea Munților”
Landmarks
To see in the Bucegi
The Sphinx
The natural megalith of the Bucegi, one of the best-known landmarks of the Carpathians.
Mount Omu
The highest point of the Bucegi, at 2,507 m, a ridge hike for experienced walkers.
Tătarului Gorges
One of the most spectacular gorges in the Bucegi, carved by the Ialomița in limestone, near Lake Bolboci.
Lăptici Peat Bog
A protected nature reserve in the Bucegi, in the Ialomița valley, a bog crossed by wooden walkways, where bog willow grows, a glacial relict unique in the country.
Lake Bolboci
A reservoir in the Ialomița valley, lovely for a relaxed outing in nature.
Hit the trail
Trails from the hotel’s doorstep
- To the Ialomița Cave & hermitage: easy walk, ~15–20 min. Descent along the Ialomița valley to the cave mouth.
- To Cabana Padina: easy, ~30–40 min on the plateau. Ideal for a short outing.
- To the Babele & the Sphinx: moderate, ~2–2½ h on the Bucegi plateau.
- To Mount Omu (2,507 m): difficult, ~4–5 h one way. A ridge hike for trained walkers.
- To Lake Bolboci & the Tătarului Gorges: variable, along the Ialomița valley.
Times are approximate. At reception you’ll find the trail map and the day’s conditions.