Ţăsnei Gorges

16 km from Băile Herculane, on the road to Baia de Aramă, one can find some of the most beautiful gorges in Romania: Ţăsnei Gorges.

The trail starts from Dumbrava pension and is marked with a blue cross.

The first 30 minutes of the journey can be discouraging because one experiences a fairly steep climb through the forest. The roots of the trees form a sort of a natural ladder helping us in our way.

Once we are out of the woods a new world suddenly appears in front of us, an wild and Jurassic looking world.The path carved into the rock turns left. Austrian guards used to patrol here. The gorges were once the border between Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

From up here the view is stunning, the black pine look like they are clinging to the limestone rock, and behind us we can see the other peaks of the Mehedinti mountains. On the left we have a limestone wall and on the right the abyss of the valley opens. The trail descends slowly and we reach down into the valley where we encounter the cold waters of Ţâsna. We go for a while alongside the water but our eyes go up to the top of the limestone gorges and craggy walls, and then again to the water course. It's incredible that a place so beautiful and wild is so close to civilization. The road climbs up again and we reach the top of the gorges.

A few minutes from here we reach the Devil's Mill and a small but beautiful waterfall. This mill is still being used and the smell of freshly ground wheat or corn is staggering.

If we continue to go a few more minutes we arrive in the Ţâsnei glade. Here is were the route ends. From the start to this point we need about an hour and a half. In the meadow there is a sheepfold where you can have some polenta or fresh cheese, a true delight after all the effort.

The return journey once again gives us the opportunity to enjoy the magnificence of this place.

Legend

The legend of this place is bound to the mill that exist on the water course.They say the Devil came and changed the way the mill wheel spins, so that the wheel spins now counterclockwise.