About Lotrișor Waterfall
Lotrișor Waterfall lies on the valley of the same name in the Căpățânii Mountains, about 2.4 km from where the stream flows into the Olt, between Călimănești and Brezoi. The water drops roughly 30 m down a wall of crystalline rock between wooded slopes and collects in a small pool at the bottom.
The waterfall has an unusual story: when the forest road up the valley was built, the stream was moved into a tunnel of around 20 m, cut through the rock, so that it would no longer run across the road. The stream comes out of the tunnel straight into the void, which is why local sources describe it as the only waterfall in Romania channelled through a man-made tunnel.
The way there is as beautiful as the destination: the valley narrows into the Lotrișor Gorge, with vertical walls of 300–400 m, which the park administration describes as the steepest slopes in crystalline rock in Romania. The beech forest of the Lotrișor valley is one of the two parts of Cozia included in 2017 in the UNESCO site of the ancient beech forests of the Carpathians.
What you can see
Along the road the stream runs clear beside you, among rocks and beech trees, with boards about the park's plants and wildlife and picnic tables where you can stop. At the end, right by the road, you see the mouth of the tunnel high in the rock and the white fall dropping down the wall into the pool below.
The flow is strongest in spring and after rain, when the water can be muddy; in autumn the slopes turn yellow and rust. In winter the waterfall freezes and is covered in icicles, with the water still visible running behind the ice.
Good to know
Cars are no longer allowed on the forest road: a barrier closes it at the entrance by the DN7, so you go on foot or by bike. You are in a national park and need a visitor ticket: stay on the road, do not light fires and do not swim in the stream.
- The mouth of the tunnel cut into the rock, from which the stream drops straight into the fall.
- The vertical walls of the Lotrișor Gorge, several hundred metres high, along the road to the waterfall.
- The pool at the foot of the waterfall, where the water calms down among the boulders.
- The frozen waterfall in winter, with curtains of icicles through which you can see the water running.
- The picnic tables and the boards about the park's nature along the forest road.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: take the DN7 (E81) through the Olt Gorge; about 7.5 km from Căciulata towards Sibiu, turn left onto the road up the Lotrișor Valley, next to the Lotrișor Hotel. Leave the car at the entrance, before the barrier; from there it is about 2.5 km on foot along the gravel forest road, 35–40 minutes to the waterfall. Călimănești is ~20 km from Râmnicu Vâlcea and ~210 km from Bucharest; coming from Sibiu, the turn-off is after Brezoi.
Public transport: trains between Râmnicu Vâlcea and Sibiu stop at halts in the gorge (Cozia, Gura Lotrului), but from there to Lotrișor you would have to walk along the edge of the DN7, a very busy road. It is easier to take a taxi from Călimănești-Căciulata to the start of the valley.
- Where to park
Cars are left at the entrance to the valley, by the DN7: the clearing next to the road, about 80 m from the barrier, holds a few dozen cars, and parking was free according to recent visitor reports. There are more spaces by the hotel and restaurant at the entrance. You cannot drive beyond the barrier.
- Fees & discounts
Entry to Cozia National Park requires a visitor ticket of 10 lei per person, valid for one day. It is sold by the park rangers on the ground (usually at the barrier in the Lotrișor Valley) and at the visitor centres; keep it for inspection. Exemptions are posted at the points of sale and on parccozia.ro. For organised groups, the park administration can provide a guide and transport to the waterfall in the park's vehicle (on request, by phone or e-mail).
- Rules
You are in a national park: keep to the road and the marked trails, do not light fires, pick plants, leave litter or swim in the stream. Dogs on a lead only. Cars, motorbikes and quad bikes are banned from the forest road; bicycles are allowed on it. The rocks by the waterfall are wet and slippery, and in winter the road can be icy; wear shoes with good grip.
- Facilities
Picnic tables and benches along the forest road · park information boards · a hotel and a restaurant by the DN7, at the entrance to the valley · no toilets or shop at the waterfall · gravel road, suitable for pushchairs
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