Ceahlau Mountain

Location:Ceahlau National Park is located 10 km west of Bicaz and its borders are between Bistrita Valley, Bistricioarea Valley and Bicaz Valley.

Geographic location: centre of the Eastern Carpathians

Location: 47 degrees latitude N, 26 degrees longitude

Ceahlau Massif is the tallest of Bistrita Mountains and it represents the biggest touristic attraction in the Eastern Carpathians. Considered by the Dacia people to be home of their god Zamolxix, the ancient name of this mountain is Pion (Peon) which means “the pillar of the house”. This is the mountain that is considered to bethe second holy mountain of the Christian orthodoxy, after Mount Athos. This could be one of the reasons great writers wrote about it: Alexandru Vlahuta, Calistrat Hogas and Mihail Sadoveanu.

Ceahlau Mountain is located between Hermitage Valley (this is the place where Durau Monastery is located), Izvorul Alb river (White Spring), the spring of the brook Ursu and Izvoru Muntelui Lake. The mountain has numerous rock formations in different interesting shapes that were the foundation formany legendsthat are now places of touristic attraction: Toaca, Panaghia, Detunatele, Furculita (The Fork), Piatra cu Apa (The Water Stone), etc. The climate that dominates the mountain is a harsh one with low temperatures most of the year. The two peaks that dominate the mountain are Ocolasul Mare Peak (1907 m) and Toaca Peak (1900 m).