Boiului Valley circuit

Attention, the marking changes from here, becoming a red dot in a red circle, thus showing us that we will follow a trail, back and forth, to the waterfall and back. Although in the dry months many tourists prefer to take it upstream, on the water, the marked route is more beautiful and worth following. We will climb gently, through a young fir forest. At one point, our path detaches to the right of the main road, which begins to descend quite steeply. When we reach the water we can already see to the left the Boiului waterfall. The water falls from a stone threshold, from a height of seven meters. At the base of the waterfall are two pools and a few steps that also contribute to the beauty of the place.

We return to the main trail, also through the spruce forest, going up and down the same road. The trail, from the main road to the waterfall and back, takes 30-40 minutes. Once we reach the point where we deviated from the main path, we have on the left a forest road that climbs slightly and the sign “to the viewpoint”.

Less experienced tourists, less eager for adventure or families with small children can make their way back, returning to the village of Lorău and remaining with the memory of a short but beautiful walk.

After another few hundred meters, we leave the forest road that climbs to the left, following the course of a valley. We keep the mark – red dot – and after another 10 minutes we reach a meadow. It takes a little attention and observation here. The route turns right, next to the house in the meadow, our best landmark. We continue to climb a path and leave behind the houses of a small village.

About 1 kilometer away, right at the edge of the forest, we can see the marking that leads to the Fugarilor Cave or, according to some, simpler, the Cave from Pietrele Boiului. It is a derivation of our route. A “detour” of about half an hour will go down through the forest and, after turning right, it will follow a narrow path, bordered by a steep fall. It takes a little courage to discover the cave. In fact, it is a room dug into the rock, by nature. As the name suggests, the place was often a refuge for those who wanted to run from the world, but also an observation point for foresters. Interesting is the chimney of this cave, which leads to a small natural balcony, suspended among the rocks, above the Boiului Valley. The cave is still used today by tourists who want to spend a night or two in the rudimentary conditions of a bivouac. The place is really perfect to sleep one night in the middle of nature, but it lacks water.

Returning to the main route, after about 10 minutes of walking from the above-mentioned branch of the route, we reach the viewpoint Pietrele Boiului. Good place to stop and admire the beauty of the valley with the same name. Going forward, we descend slightly and then climb, about 100 meters, to a grassy peak, which looms on the horizon. Here, on the peak of Cepleu, we have a beautiful panorama of the surroundings. You can see the Crişului Repede valley upstream, on the right the Boiului valley and on the left, Bratca commune. Here we also have a sign that says “Lorău”. We follow the sign. The slope descends steeply, first on a grassland, then through a black pine forest.

From the forest, to the left, there are numerous viewpoints that reveal many unique landscapes from Crisului Repede valley. As soon as we leave the forest we can see the bridge from which we started our little adventure. The route continues for a few hundred meters on the rocky and steep path, to the meadow of the river in front of us. The crossing over the Boiului river, the last “obstacle” on the route, is made on a concrete pillar lying across the stream.