Bulz circuit

The mountainous area of ​​this itinerary can be approached from two directions. If we start from Sărăcelului Valley, we will have to face a steep climb, which means about 800 meters of level difference, over a distance of about 20 kilometers. The easiest approach is the option that starts from the border of Cluj and Bihor counties, a place where we can go by car, and where we can also return. On this alternative the level difference is only 180 meters, at a distance of about 18 kilometers. All this is just one way! So, if you plan to return on the same day to the road that connects the village of Munteni to the Drăgan-Floroiu dam, you must carefully calculate your time. Another option is to start from the border of the two counties and cross the eastern ridge of the Pădurea Craiului mountains, descending on the Sărăcelului Valley to the DJ 108K county road.

Therefore, after walking 23 kilometers on the road, from the center of Bulz commune, through Munteni and Remeţi (from here we turn left on the road leading to the Drăgan-Floroiu dam), to the limit of Cluj and Bihor counties, the red stripe route leaves the asphalt and starts to the left, to its adventure sector. We are at 1070 meters altitude and as soon as we come out of the patches of trees we can admire the beauty of the lake at the foot of the Vladeasa mountains, the peaks of this massif or the gentler shapes of Padurea Craiului mountains. An unpaved road will take us, from south to north, along the eastern ridge of the Pădurea Craiului mountains. We climb to Pin Peak, almost 1,000 meters altitude. Then, a few kilometers after we left the paved road we meet, the first observation point. Not far away, somewhere to the left of the main road that goes on the ridge, we see the first refuge. Located near a sheperds place, the place is not exactly suitable for sleeping, because it is often used by shepherds.

It is worth continuing our way, going up and down, at over 1,000 meters altitude. The next observation point, located just below Scoruşet or Scoroşet Peak (1,183 meters altitude), reveals to tourists a wide panorama of Iadului Valley and other tributary valleys. The place, located near a spring, is only good for stopping. Further on, on the left side, dominating an alpine meadow, on the place called Dealu Mare (1,075 meters altitude), we reach the point where a refuge and an observation point were built. For those who have everything they need, the place is perfect to spend the night closer to the stars. A few hundred meters, to the right of the entrance to the shelter, there is a permanent spring. There are, in theory, at least six sleeping places in the shelter. One of the two rooms may be closed, so keep in mind that you may sleep a bit cramped. But if it’s summer, the neighboring observatory is just a good place to sleep. The landscape is unforgettable. On clear days, you can see Iadului Valley, the village of Ponoare, located on the opposite side, and, far away in the distance, the plain of Criș.

Whether you have decided to stay or decided to go down, from this point you still have about 4 kilometers to go. Then, from the upper part of the Sărăcelului Valley, begins a descent in serpentines, of a length of about 6 kilometers. It is a mountain road that does not involve any problems in terms of accessibility. We reach a junction, in the immediate vicinity of the place where the Saracel river flows into the waters of Iadului Valley, and here we meet again with DJ 108K. At this junction we turn right. We are 3 kilometers away (on the road) from the tourist information center of Bulz commune, the place where this circuit starts and ends.