Meziad chalet - Poiana Remeţi village - over the Stangului ridge
| Start / arrival | Meziad Chalet / “Baraj Leşu” Motel |
| Route | Meziad Chalet – derivation to Meziad Cave – Stagu peak – Piciorul Porcului peak – Vâlcele Valley – Bridge over Cu Cale Valley – Piatra Bulzului – Leşu Valley – “Baraj Leşu” Motel |
| Distance | 19 km |
| Cumulative level difference | 1.200 m+, 1.185m – |
| Estimated travel time | 7 hours |
| Marking |  |
| Accessibility | any season |
| Discover: | Meziad Cave, Coada Lacului Village, Piatra Bulzului Peak, Iadului Valley |
Route description
Marked with a red triangle, the trail of the Meziad chalet – Baraj Leşu motel is not exactly within everyone’s reach. It has 19 kilometers in lenght. If the weather is favorable, the whole route can be covered in 6-7 hours.
The route starts from Meziad chalet, which, like many others in the area, has been abandoned and is now just a ruin.
Because we are so close, it is worth taking a short detour to visit the Meziad Cave, one of the largest and most beautiful caves in Padurea Craiului mountains. It is good to keep in mind that the visit to the cave takes a little over an hour. We advise you to add this time to the calculated time to reach your destination, to be sure that you will arrive in time.
Returning to the Meziad chalet, the path climbs quite steeply on the first gorge, upstream and reaches Stogu Peak (746 meters). From this point we keep the ridge, a path of about two kilometers. We climb slightly along Stângu Hill, until near Dealul Mare Peak (976 meters). From here the route descends to Vâlcele Valley.
On the way down, our route will leave, on the right, the route marked with a blue triangle, which accompanied us to this point. This marking goes straight down to the Coada Lacului holiday village and also reaches the “Barajul Leşu” motel, but on the road. We continue on the road on the left. After about a kilometer, the road we are on turns to the right, descending to Iadului Valley.
We follow the marking, going forward, climbing to the Piatra Bulzului Peak (Corbului), a very beautiful place from where the whole panorama of the Coada Lacului holiday village opens to us. We go down to the left and find a road. From here things are simple, all we have to do is follow this forest road and the red triangle marking. Somewhere on the left, a short distance away, is the highest point in the Padurea Craiului massif, Hodrânguşa Peak, 1027 meters altitude.
After about 1.5 kilometers, the road turns left and begins to climb, meets the Hodrânguşa Valley (Ordânguşa) and then turns sharply to the right. A little further up and we reach Piatra Acra. At the base of this peak is the Church Cave from Lunca Acra. The cave is known for its beautiful portal, entrances, corridors and underground halls. From Poiana Acră, the road descends again, turns left, then, suddenly, right. Here we are in the Leş Valley. Almost, somewhere above, on the left side, there is the Water Cave from Valea Leşului. Here the waters captured by the ponor from Poiana Acra come to light. The cave is difficult to access because it has, at the entrance, a permanent lake which is over a meter deep. The portal, on the other hand, is impressive.
We continue our way downstream and after about three kilometers we cross the concrete bridge over the waters of theIadului Valley. We are in the hamlet of Poiana – Remeţi, from where, on the right, you can see the Leşu dam. In its immediate vicinity, other ruins, those of the former Leşu Dam accommodation and services complex.
