# Lakes — tourist attractions in Romania [Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Categories](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/categories) > Natural lakes and reservoirs. The lakes of Romania have very different origins, and that is precisely what makes them interesting: glacial lakes in the cirques of the Făgăraș and Retezat, a volcanic lake in Harghita, a natural dam lake formed by a landslide at Red Lake, salt lakes on the site of old salt mines, lagoons and limans on the coast, and the large reservoirs built on the Bistrița, Argeș and Olt rivers in the second half of the 20th century. Most mountain lakes are reached on foot; the reservoirs have shore roads, guesthouses and boats. [Bâlea Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-balea) and [Bucura Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-bucura), the largest glacial lake in the country, are the landmarks of hikes in the Southern Carpathians. [Lake Sfânta Ana](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-sfanta-ana) is the only volcanic lake in Romania, while [Red Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-rosu), with its fir trunks rising from the water, sits at the entrance to the Bicaz Gorge. For lakeside holidays: [Lake Izvorul Muntelui](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-izvorul-muntelui) on the Bistrița or [Lake Siutghiol](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-siutghiol) next to Mamaia. ## Tourist attractions 24 attractions - [Bâlea Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-balea) — Lakes · Sibiu County · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 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. - [Lake Vidraru](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-vidraru) — Lakes · Arefu, AG · Free · ½ – 1 hours · Top 100 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. - [Bucura Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-bucura) — Lakes · Hunedoara County · 10 lei · 6½ – 7 hours · Top 100 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. - [Lake Izvorul Muntelui](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-izvorul-muntelui) — Lakes · Bicaz, NT · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 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. - [Lake Sfânta Ana](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-sfanta-ana) — Lakes · Harghita County · 46 lei · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 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. - [Lake Snagov](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-snagov) — Lakes · Snagov, IF · Free · Top 100 A liman lake some 16 km long, 40 km north of Bucharest, between forests, villas and jetties, with a water-lily reserve in the middle and Snagov Monastery on an island. - [Lake Ursu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-ursu) — Lakes · Sovata, MS · Top 100 A heliothermal salt lake in Sovata, formed in 1875 over a salt massif: beneath a thin layer of fresh water the salt water goes above 40 °C in summer; a lido runs on the shore in season. - [Red Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-rosu) — Lakes · Lacu Roșu, HR · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 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. - [Lake Colibița](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-colibita) — Lakes · Colibița, BN · Free · 1½ – 2 hours 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. - [Amara Resort](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/amara) — Resorts and thermal baths · Amara, IL · 3½ – 4 hours 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. - [Capra Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-capra) — Lakes · Argeș County · Free · 2½ – 3 hours 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. - [King Michael I Park (Herăstrău)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcul-regele-mihai-i-herastrau) — Parks and gardens · București · Free · 2 – 2½ hours Bucharest's largest park, on the shore of Lake Herăstrău: nearly 190 hectares of strolling paths, the Japanese Garden, Caryatid Alley and Rose Island. - [Lake Beliș-Fântânele](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-belis-fantanele) — Lakes · Beliș, CJ · Free A reservoir about 13 km long on the Someșul Cald in the Apuseni Mountains, at almost 1,000 m; in dry summers the ruined church of the drowned village of Giurcuța de Jos rises from the water. - [Lake Bolboci](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-bolboci) — Lakes · Moroeni, DB · 10 lei · ½ – 1 hours 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. - [Lake Cuejdel](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-cuejdel) — Lakes · Gârcina, NT · Free · 2 – 2½ hours 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. - [Lake Mogoșa](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-mogosa) — Lakes · Baia Sprie, MM · Free · 1 – 1½ hours A 4-hectare reservoir at 731 m in the forests of the Gutâi Mountains above the town of Baia Sprie, with a lakeside path, terrace, beach and kayaks for hire in summer, 18 km from Baia Mare. - [Lake Razim](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-razim) — Lakes · Sarichioi, TL · Free Romania's largest lake, a lagoon of about 415 km² south of the Danube Delta, with Lipovan fishing villages on its shores, protected islands and the ruins of Enisala and Argamum above the water. - [Lake Siriu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-siriu) — Lakes · Siriu, BZ · Free · ½ – 1 hours 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. - [Lake Siutghiol](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-siutghiol) — Lakes · Ovidiu, CT · Free The freshwater lake behind Mamaia, 7.5 km long, with water sports bases on the resort side and little Ovidiu Island, tied to the legend of the Roman poet, off the town of Ovidiu. - [Lake Tarnița](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-tarnita) — Lakes · Gilău, CJ · Free A reservoir almost 9 km long on the Someșul Cald, about 30 km from Cluj-Napoca, with wooded slopes, a 97 m arch dam and sailing or kayaking on the water. - [Lake Techirghiol](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-techirghiol) — Lakes · Techirghiol, CT · Free Romania's largest salt lake, a former sea bay next to Eforie: cold mud baths on the Techirghiol shore in summer, flocks of rare birds on water that does not freeze in winter. - [Lake Trei Ape](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-trei-ape) — Lakes · Brebu Nou, CS · Free · 1 – 1½ hours 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. - [Ochiul Beiului Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-ochiul-beiului) — Lakes · Caraș-Severin County · ~12 lei · 2½ – 3 hours 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. - [Zănoaga Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-zanoaga) — Lakes · Hunedoara County · 10 lei · 8½ – 9 hours Romania's deepest glacial lake, 29 m deep, at almost 2,000 m in the south-west of Retezat National Park; it can only be reached on foot, on a long day hike. --- Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacuri Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/lacuri.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/lacuri.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/lacuri.md Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania