Lake Bolboci

About Lake Bolboci

Lake Bolboci fills the basin of the same name on the upper Ialomița, on the Dâmbovița side of the Bucegi Mountains, between the Tătaru Gorge upstream and the Zănoaga Gorge downstream. It formed behind the Bolboci Dam, brought into service on 11 October 1988: a rockfill dam, built from blocks of stone quarried nearby, 55 m high and sealed with concrete on the side facing the lake. It lies at 1,438 m, one of the highest altitudes at which a dam has been built in Romania, and locals and visitors call it "the Sea of the Bucegi".

The reservoir, which holds about 18 million cubic metres, is above all a drinking-water reserve for Târgoviște and the towns along the Ialomița. Its water also feeds Lake Scropoasa further down the valley, from where it flows on to the hydropower stations at Dobrești and Moroeni. Besides the Ialomița, the lake is fed by the Bolboci, Valea Mircii and Nucet streams, and its water is a clear greenish blue.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: from Sinaia take the DN71 towards Târgoviște, turn right onto the DJ713 (Transbucegi) up to the Dichiu Saddle, then drop down the DJ713A towards Zănoaga and Lake Bolboci: ~25 km from Sinaia in all, and ~125 km from Bucharest to Sinaia on the DN1. From Târgoviște, drive up the DN71 to Glod (Moroeni commune) and from there take the DJ714, past the Moroeni Sanatorium, ~25 km to the lake; apart from the first few kilometres the road is unsurfaced and in poor condition in places, and the funding contract for modernising it was signed in July 2026. The roads are narrow, with no petrol stations: fill up in Sinaia or on the DN71.

Public transport: there are no scheduled services to the lake. Without a car, the nearest link is the Babele – Peștera cable car, whose lower station is next to Hotel Peștera; from there you walk down the Ialomița valley, through Padina and the Tătaru Gorge, to the lake.

Where to park

Leave the car near the dam or at the chalets in the area, without blocking the road. On summer weekends spaces fill up quickly. Do not park on the pasture or in the forest: you are in Bucegi Natural Park.

Fees & discounts

Access to the lake and the dam is free, but the area lies in Bucegi Natural Park, where a visitor fee applies: 10 lei per person aged 14 and over, valid for 90 days, bought online on the park's website or in cash from the rangers; children under 14 go free. The fee is not included in chalet accommodation or cable car tickets.

Rules

The lake is a drinking-water source: do not throw anything into the water or wash dishes or cars on the shore. It is not a designated bathing area. Recreational fishing requires a permit. In the park, do not camp outside marked sites, do not light fires and do not leave litter; vehicles may only use roads open to traffic.

Facilities

Cabana Bolboci next to the dam, with rooms and a restaurant · campsite and cabins at Zănoaga, ~2 km away · chalets and guesthouses upstream at Padina and Peștera · no petrol station in the area; the nearest are in Sinaia and on the DN71