Lakes

A glacial lake at 2,034 m in the Bâlea cirque of the Făgăraș Mountains, at the top of the Transfăgărășan; reachable by car in summer and by cable car all year round.

A reservoir over 10 km long on the Argeș, held back by the 166 m Vidraru arch dam; the Transfăgărășan runs along its crest, watched over by a statue of Prometheus.

Better known as Lake Bicaz, it is the largest reservoir on Romania's inland rivers: 35 km of water on the Bistrița, below Mount Ceahlău, held back by a 127 m dam.

Romania's only volcanic lake: an almost round sheet of water in the Ciomatu crater, ringed by forest, with a Catholic chapel on the shore and the Mohoș peat bog in the neighbouring crater.

A natural dam lake formed in 1837, when a mountainside blocked the Bicaz valley; the trunks of the drowned forest still rise from the water, at the upper end of the Bicaz Gorge.

Romania's largest glacial lake, at 2,040 m in the heart of Retezat National Park; it can only be reached on foot, after a climb of about two hours from Poiana Pelegii.

A 53-hectare reservoir in the Semenic Mountains, at 837 m, ringed by spruce and beech right beside the Transsemenic road; in summer it is the mountain Banat's spot for swimming, boating and camping.

A small karst lake with turquoise water clear to the bottom, fed by a spring beneath it and hidden in the forest of the Bei valley, in the Cheile Nerei – Beușnița National Park.

A glacial lake at 2,230 m on the southern side of the Făgăraș Mountains, just below the ridge; about an hour's walk from Bâlea Lake, over the Capra saddle.

Bucharest's largest park, on the shore of Lake Herăstrău: nearly 190 hectares of strolling paths, the Japanese Garden, Caryatid Alley and Rose Island.

A reservoir on the Ialomița at 1,438 m, in the heart of the Bucegi Mountains, held back by a 55 m stone dam and ringed by spruce forest, between the Tătaru and Zănoaga gorges.

A reservoir on the Bistrița Ardeleană between the Bârgău and Călimani mountains, nicknamed “the sea in the mountains”, with the Colibița resort spread along its shores.

Romania's largest natural dam lake, formed by landslides between 1978 and 1991 in the Stânișoarei Mountains, with bare spruce trunks rising out of the water; reached on foot through the forest.

A reservoir over 10 km long in the Buzău valley, between the Siriu and Podu Calului mountains; the DN10 winds along its shore over viaducts, with views of the water and the 122 m rockfill dam.

A spa resort on the Bărăgan plain, on the shore of Lake Amara, sought out for more than a century for its sapropelic mud, used to treat rheumatism. It has treatment centres in its hotels, lakeside beaches and an arboretum.