# Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Hunedoara County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/hunedoara) › [Hațeg](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/hateg)

> The land of dwarf dinosaurs around Hațeg, Romania's first geopark: small museums with reconstructions and fossils, themed trails through villages, palaeontological sites and traces of 70-million-year-old volcanoes.

**At a glance:** National parks and reserves in Hațeg, Hunedoara County. The visit takes 7½ – 8 hours. Information verified on 21 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** The geopark area is open at all times. Opening hours for the Houses of the Geopark are not published and vary with the season. The House of Volcanoes in Densuș and guided tours of the houses and trails are by appointment only, at least three days in advance.
- **Visit duration:** 7½ – 8 hours — a day, ideally 2–3 days
- **With kids:** Yes — workshops at the House of Volcanoes
- **Best season:** April – October — Dinosaur Festival, July
- **Address:** Strada Libertății 9A (House of the Geopark, administration office), Hațeg, Hunedoara County
- **Coordinates:** 45.61047, 22.94731
- **Phone:** +40 774 050 465
- **Website:** https://www.hateggeoparc.ro/new/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha%C8%9Beg_Country_Dinosaurs_Geopark
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5681288
- **Categories:** [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcuri-nationale-si-rezervatii), [Museums and memorial houses](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzee-si-case-memoriale)

## About Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark

The Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark covers the Hațeg basin at the foot of the Retezat Mountains: the town of Hațeg and ten surrounding communes, over roughly 1,100 km². It is famous for its dwarf dinosaurs: about 70 million years ago the area was an island in the Tethys Sea, and the animals isolated here stayed much smaller than their mainland relatives. The first bones were found by Baron Franz Nopcsa in 1895 at Sânpetru; since then more than ten dinosaur species have been described, along with eggs containing embryos and a giant flying reptile, Hatzegopteryx.

The area was declared a nature park in 2004, and in 2005 it became the first geopark in Romania and Eastern Europe to join the Global Geoparks Network; since 2015 it has held UNESCO Global Geopark status, a UNESCO programme separate from World Heritage. Separately, the Sânpetru palaeontological site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 1991. The geopark is managed by the University of Bucharest.

It is not a park with a gate and a ticket but a lived-in landscape of villages, medieval churches and Roman sites, where you travel between several visitor points, known as the "Houses of the Geopark", and along themed trails with information panels.

### What you can see

In Hațeg, the House of the Geopark hosts the exhibition "Wyverns, Dragons, Dinosaurs", with a reconstruction of Balaur bondoc, a small predatory dinosaur from Transylvania. At General Berthelot, the House of Science and Art has a life-size Magyarosaurus dacus in its yard and, inside, fossils and nests of dinosaur eggs. The community centre in Sânpetru brings together the House of Dwarf Dinosaurs and the House of Traditions, while at Densuș the House of Volcanoes, built from earth and straw by volunteers, explains the volcanoes of the ancient island.

The "Dinosaur Valley" trail (18 km) links Hațeg with Sânpetru, the "La Scoabă" geosite and the village of Ohaba-Sibișel, with walls and houses made of granite boulders; the "Volcano Road" (26 km) runs through Densuș, Ștei and Peșteana, past pillow lavas. Along the way you can see [Densuș Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-densus), [Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ulpia-traiana-sarmizegetusa) and the [bison reserve](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/rezervatia-de-zimbri-hateg).

### Good to know

The Houses of the Geopark have no published opening hours, and the House of Volcanoes and guided tours on the trails are by appointment only. At Tuștea, where the egg nests were found, a dinosaur museum is being fitted out; it had not opened as of 2025.

## Don't miss

- The "Wyverns, Dragons, Dinosaurs" exhibition at the House of the Geopark in Hațeg, with its reconstruction of Balaur bondoc.
- A life-size Magyarosaurus dacus and nests of dinosaur eggs at the House of Science and Art in General Berthelot.
- The "Dinosaur Valley" trail, from Sânpetru to the "La Scoabă" geosite, where the geopark's first dinosaur fossils came to light.
- The "Volcano Road" from Densuș, with pillow lavas and the House of Volcanoes, built from earth, straw and water.
- The "Story Trail" at Colț Fortress, Romania's first themed trail with comic-strip panels, based on Jules Verne's "The Carpathian Castle".

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Hațeg is about 45 km from Deva, on the DN7 to Simeria and then the DN66 through Călan (around an hour), and about 48 km from Petroșani on the DN66 (also around an hour). From Hațeg, General Berthelot is ~5 km away (DJ687C), Sânpetru ~10 km, and Densuș ~15 km, on the DN68 towards Caransebeș and then the DJ687G. The House of Volcanoes is 3 km from Densuș church towards the village of Ștei, 300 m off the road along a forest track.

**Public transport:** the nearest railway station is Subcetate, on the Simeria – Petroșani line, ~4 km from Hațeg. Coaches run to Hațeg from Deva, Hunedoara and Petroșani; from Sibiu the coach takes around two and a half hours, from Timișoara around three. Local buses between the geopark villages are infrequent and published by Hunedoara County Council; to cover the full circuit you need a car.

### Where to park

There is no geopark car park. In Hațeg you park on the streets in the centre, and at the houses in the villages, on the street next to them. At the House of Volcanoes you leave the car by the road or drive up the 300 m of forest track, of moderate difficulty.

### Fees & discounts

Access to the geopark area and its trails is free. Prices for visiting the Houses of the Geopark, guided tours and educational programmes are not published; you find out when booking, from the geopark administration or, for the House of Volcanoes, from the Drag de Hațeg association.

### Rules

The geopark includes palaeontological and geological reserves (Sânpetru, Tuștea): rocks and fossils must not be removed from the sites, and digging is allowed only for authorised researchers. On the trails, keep to the waymarked paths. Guided tours of the houses and trails are booked by phone at least three days in advance. Walking on the hills and along the Sibișel valley calls for hiking footwear.

### Facilities

Houses of the Geopark as visitor and interpretation centres · guided trail walks and educational workshops by appointment · bilingual panels on the themed trails · guesthouses and farm stays in the villages of the Hațeg Country · the hill trails are not accessible for people with disabilities

## Details

- **Collection type:** palaeontology, geology
- **Guided tour:** Yes
- **Protected area type:** UNESCO geopark, nature park

## Frequently asked questions about Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark

**How long does a visit to Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark take?**

A visit to Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark takes about 7½ – 8 hours (a day, ideally 2–3 days).

**Can you visit Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark with kids?**

Yes, Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark is suitable for children (workshops at the House of Volcanoes).

**How do I get to Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark?**

Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark is located at Strada Libertății 9A (House of the Geopark, administration office), Hațeg, Hunedoara County. By car: Hațeg is about 45 km from Deva, on the DN7 to Simeria and then the DN66 through Călan (around an hour), and about 48 km from Petroșani on the DN66 (also around an hour). From Hațeg, General Berthelot is ~5 km away (DJ687C), Sânpetru ~10 km, and Densuș ~15 km, on the DN68 towards Caransebeș and then the DJ687G. The House of Volcanoes is 3 km from Densuș church towards the village of Ștei, 300 m off the road along a forest track. Public transport: the nearest railway station is Subcetate, on the Simeria – Petroșani line, ~4 km from Hațeg. Coaches run to Hațeg from Deva, Hunedoara and Petroșani; from Sibiu the coach takes around two and a half hours, from Timișoara around three. Local buses between the geopark villages are infrequent and published by Hunedoara County Council; to cover the full circuit you need a car.

**When is the best time to visit Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark?**

The best season for Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark: April – October (Dinosaur Festival, July).

## Nearby attractions

- [Hațeg Bison Reserve](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/rezervatia-de-zimbri-hateg) — Zoos and aquariums · Hațeg, HD · 45 min · 5 km
  Romania's oldest European bison reserve, in the Slivuț forest near Hațeg: the first bison brought from Poland arrived here in 1958, and the herd can be watched from the fence of the enclosure.
- [Prislop Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastirea-prislop) — Monasteries · Hațeg, HD · 1 – 1½ hours · 10 km
  A convent in the Hațeg Country, with a stone church rebuilt in 1564 and the grave of St Arsenie of Prislop (Father Arsenie Boca), one of the largest pilgrimage sites in Romania.
- [St Nicholas Church in Densuș](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-densus) — Churches · Densuș, HD · Free · 45 min · 15 km
  A small stone church in the Hațeg Country, built largely from Roman blocks brought from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, with a tower over the nave, stone lions on the roof and paintings from 1443.
- [Piatra Roșie Dacian Fortress](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetatea-dacica-piatra-rosie) — Fortresses and fortifications · Luncani, HD · 1½ – 2 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 20 km
  A Dacian fortress on top of a rocky hill above Luncani, with an ancient paved road of stone steps and tower ruins hidden in the forest; a UNESCO site, far from the crowds.
- [Corvin Castle](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/castelul-corvinilor) — Castles and palaces · Hunedoara, HD · 55 lei · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 20 · 21 km
  John Hunyadi's Gothic residence, on a rock above the Zlaști river and reached by a long bridge on stone piers; inside, vaulted halls and towers from the 15th century.
- [Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ulpia-traiana-sarmizegetusa) — Monuments and historic sites · Sarmizegetusa, HD · 30 lei · 1½ – 2 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 21 km
  The capital of Roman Dacia in the Hațeg Country: the restored amphitheatre and the ruins of the forum, walls and temples of the city founded by Trajan, plus the site's archaeological museum.

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Last updated: 21 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania