Cerna Valley Road

About Cerna Valley Road

The Cerna Valley Road is the roughly 65-kilometre stretch of the DN67D between Baia de Aramă and Băile Herculane, the way from northern Mehedinți into the Banat without the detour through Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Orșova. The first half crosses the Mehedinți Mountains, via Obârșia Cloșani and over the Arșasca saddle, the highest point, at about 900 m. The second half drops down to the Cerna and follows it to Herculane along the left bank, with the Cerna Mountains on the other side of the river.

Almost all of the road along the Cerna lies in Domogled–Valea Cernei National Park, an area of more than 61,000 hectares spread across Gorj, Mehedinți and Caraș-Severin counties. The park's beech forests, in three separate areas, have been part of the UNESCO site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe since 2017.

The valley is narrow and deep, with forested slopes topped by white limestone walls, and on its lower part the road passes hot springs and the Prisaca reservoir.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: from the east you come from Târgu Jiu, on the DN67D via Tismana to Baia de Aramă (~43 km), where the stretch begins; from the west and south, from Băile Herculane, where the DN67D leaves the DN6 (E70) at Pecinișca. Herculane is ~20 km from Orșova and ~45 km from Drobeta-Turnu Severin. The Baia de Aramă – Herculane stretch is ~65 km of mountain road with hairpins; allow at least an hour and a half without stops and fill up in Baia de Aramă or Herculane.

Public transport: Băile Herculane has a railway station on the Timișoara – Craiova line. To drive the road, stopping at viewpoints and trailheads, you really need a car, motorbike or bicycle.

Where to park

There are no large car parks: you stop in the wider spots on the roadside and at the trailheads, for example at the Ghizela cross, where there is a parking spot for the trail to Cociu Waterfall. Do not stop on the roadworks section or under slopes signposted for falling rocks.

Fees & discounts

The road is public and free; the road vignette (rovinieta) is compulsory on national roads outside built-up areas. The Domogled–Valea Cernei National Park administration charges visitors a fee of 2 euros + VAT per person, valid for 7 days across the whole park, paid at the visitor centre in Băile Herculane (Strada Uzinei 9) or by text message to 7473, with the text Domogled1, Domogled2 or Domogled5, depending on the number of people. The park's website does not say whether the fee also applies to those just driving through.

Rules

Follow the signs on the roadworks sections with single-lane traffic and do not stop under slopes signposted for falling rocks. You are in a national park: keep to the marked trails, dogs on a lead only, no picking flowers, and camping and fires are allowed only in designated places. Keep your rubbish until the first bin in a village.

Facilities

Petrol stations, shops and restaurants in Baia de Aramă and Băile Herculane · the park visitor centre, on the way out of Herculane towards Baia de Aramă · no public toilets along the road