About Pișoaia Waterfall
Pișoaia Waterfall is one of the best-known waterfalls in the Apuseni Mountains and, being just a few minutes' walk from the road, one of the easiest to see. A short stream on the right bank of the Arieșul Mic river leaps off a rock lip about 18 m high and spreads out across a front some 25 m wide, in threads and thin curtains that change from one season to the next.
The cliff is ancient crystalline limestone from the Palaeozoic, and the water, rich in calcium carbonate, has over time laid down crusts of travertine on the rock and on the boulders at its foot, now covered in yellow-green moss. Local people have used this porous stone for crosses and buildings. The site is protected as a landscape nature reserve, set in beech forest with scattered spruces, and on the opposite bank of the river lies another protected area, Dealul cu Melci (Snail Hill), known for its fossil molluscs.
What you can see
From the road you can already make out the white streak of the waterfall on the ochre wall between the trees. The short path passes the village houses and the stream and takes you to the foot of the cliff, where you see up close how the water breaks into several strands, how the wet travertine glistens and how it then trickles down in small steps between cushions of moss. In spring, at snowmelt and after rain, the flow is at its strongest; in summer only a few strands remain, and in winter the waterfall freezes into icicles as long as the wall.
Good to know
Access is easy and possible all year, but the stones at the foot are wet and slippery, especially in winter, when the path can be icy. You are in a protected area: do not break off pieces of travertine and leave no litter.
- The 18 m curtain of water spreading across the ochre limestone wall, seen from the foot of the cliff.
- The travertine crusts on the rock and on the boulders below, clad in yellow-green moss.
- The small steps where the water trickles between cushions of moss below the falls.
- The frozen waterfall in winter, with icicles as long as the wall.
- Dealul cu Melci, the palaeontological reserve on the opposite bank of the Arieșul Mic.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Câmpeni take the DN75 towards Albac as far as the Mihoiești dam, then the paved DJ762 towards Vidra and Avram Iancu, to the village of Nemeși (~19 km from Câmpeni, ~25 minutes). The waterfall is signposted with boards by the road, from where it is ~500 m on foot. The waterfall is ~100 km from Alba Iulia (DN74 via Abrud, then the DN75; ~2 hours) and ~130 km from Cluj-Napoca (DN75 via Turda; ~2h30). From Arieșeni, head down the DN75 through Albac to the Mihoiești dam and then turn up the DJ762.
Public transport: buses and minibuses to Câmpeni from Alba Iulia, Cluj-Napoca and Turda. Towards Avram Iancu, on the DJ762, there is a single service a day from Câmpeni (in the afternoon, according to autogari.ro); check the timetable before you go. Otherwise, take a taxi from Câmpeni.
- Where to park
Leave the car by the roadside or in the village, at the start of the path; we found no confirmed information about a dedicated or paid car park.
- Fees & discounts
Access to the waterfall is free.
- Rules
The waterfall is a nature reserve: stay on the path, do not break off pieces of travertine, pick plants or leave litter. The boulders at the foot are wet and slippery, so wear shoes with good grip; in winter, when the path freezes, microspikes help.
- Facilities
Information boards by the road · guesthouses in Nemeși village, a few hundred metres away · no toilets or shop at the waterfall · path not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs
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