About Lake Beliș-Fântânele
Lake Beliș-Fântânele formed behind the Fântânele dam, begun in 1970 on the upper Someșul Cald, where the Gilău, Vlădeasa and Muntele Mare mountains meet. The water surface lies at about 990 m and stretches for roughly 13 km between spruce-covered slopes. The dam, 92 m high and more than 400 m long at the crest, is built of rockfill with a concrete facing on the lake side, and the reservoir holds more than 200 million cubic metres of water.
The lake is the first, going downstream, in the chain of reservoirs on the Someșul Cald: its water runs through an 8.7 km tunnel cut through the rock to the underground Mărișelu hydropower plant, a 220 MW station commissioned in 1977.
To make way for the lake, people were moved from the old centre of Beliș village and from the hamlets along the valley, among them Giurcuța de Jos, a village that today has no inhabitants. Left behind under the water was its stone church, built, according to local tradition, in 1913 with the backing of the Urmánczy family. When the level drops a long way, as in the dry summer of 2022, its walls, with traces of painting, emerge above the surface.
What you can see
From the top of the dam, which the DN1R crosses, you look over the eastern end of the lake, with bays tucked between the fir trees. The Fântânele resort has grown up on the shore next to the dam, with guesthouses, chalets and jetties, and the road carries on along the northern shore towards Beliș village. In summer you can get out on the water by rowing boat or pedalo.
Good to know
The church ruins are not visible every year: they appear only when the lake drops many metres below its usual level, usually towards the end of very dry summers. The rest of the time the church lies tens of metres under water.
- The view from the top of the Fântânele dam over the lake, hemmed in by spruce-covered slopes.
- The concrete face of the dam, sloping down into the water right beside the road.
- The ruins of the Giurcuța de Jos church, if you catch a summer when the lake level drops a long way.
- The road along the northern shore, between the Fântânele resort and Beliș village.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Cluj-Napoca it is ~60 km (about 1h15): take the DN1 towards Huedin, turn left at Căpușu Mare onto the county road through Mănăstireni and Râșca, as far as the DN1R, which runs through Beliș village and across the top of the dam. From Huedin it is ~35 km (about 50 minutes) south, on county roads and the DN1R. From Albac you come along the DN1R (Transursoaia), over the Ursoaia Pass.
Public transport: there are no known scheduled services to the lake for visitors; the nearest railway station is in Huedin, on the Cluj-Napoca – Oradea line.
- Fees & discounts
Access to the lake and the dam is free. Rowing boats and pedalos are paid separately, to each operator.
- Rules
Since 2020, boats with petrol or diesel engines have been banned on the lake; only rowing boats, sailing boats and electric boats are allowed. Fishing requires a permit and must respect the closed seasons. Cars drive across the top of the dam: keep to the edge of the road and do not climb onto the parapet.
- Facilities
Guesthouses, chalets and restaurants in the Fântânele resort and Beliș village · rowing boat and pedalo hire in summer · no public beach with facilities
Reviews
Other attractions nearby
The closest attractions to Lake Beliș-Fântânele, sorted by distance.
Top 10024 km from Lake Beliș-Fântânele
25 km from Lake Beliș-Fântânele
25 km from Lake Beliș-Fântânele
