The Retezat Mountains are considered the “pearl” of the Carpathians the enchanted land with blue eyes, and this is also due to the over 50 glacial lakes, such as Zănoaga (the deepest glacial lake in Romania), Tăul Porții (located at the highest altitude - 2,269 meters) and Lake Bucura (the largest glacial lake in Romania). Lake Bucura is located in the Retezat National Park, at 2,040 meters altitude.
Bucura Lake covers an area of almost 9 hectares and is located at an altitude of 2,040 meters. It has a length of 550 meters and a width of 160 meters. Its depth reaches 15.5 meters. It is quite easily accessible, offering itself access to the highest peaks in Retezat, such as Peleaga (2,509 m), Păpușa (2,508 m) and Retezat (2,482 m).
Tourists can even camp on its edge if they want to rest before trying to reach the peaks, and the landscapes are dreamy and charge you with the best energy.
How to get to Lake Bucura
The access to the lake is made from the Hațeg-Caransebeș road, from kilometer 61 (Cârnești), through Clopotiva - Grebla - Gura Zlata - Gura Apei, about 35 kilometers of asphalt road. From here you climb the forest road that stops at Drăcșanu, for a distance of 14 kilometers.
Then, passing by the Fetele Voilesei waterfall, following the Lăpușnicului Mare valley, until Gura Bucurii, and passing by Lia Lake, you reach Bucura. Any physical effort is worth it, because once you reach your destination, the beauty in its pure and natural state, the clean air, the springs and the wildness of these places, take your breath away and make you want to return.
The legend of Lake Bucura
Bucura Lake is the place where the outlaws from Banat, Transylvania and Oltenia met to share their treasures, which are said to still lie on the bottom of the lake. Also here, our ancestors have been making nedeia ( traditional folk fest), since the 16th century. The big fests from Bucura were kept in leap years and lasted three days.
It is said that it was attended by a large number of locals who were warming up in a round holding hands dance called hora that surrounded the lake. The folk fest started on June 22nd , and the next day, hora rotated constantly, all day, until the sun set towards the Tarcu Mountains, and the shadow on the lake slowly rose towards Peleaga Peak.
Photo credit Erdos Levente
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