Piatra Craiului National Park

About Piatra Craiului National Park

The Piatra Craiului Massif is the longest and highest limestone ridge in Romania: a white wall about 25 km long, running from north-east to south-west between Zărnești and Podu Dâmboviței, on the border between Brașov and Argeș counties. Its highest point is La Om Peak, also called Piscul Baciului, at 2,238 m. The upper part of the massif was declared a reserve in 1938, and since 1990 it has been a national park of 14,766 ha, managed by Romsilva.

The park is known for the Piatra Craiului pink, a flower that grows only here, for the chamois on its cliffs and for forests that are home to bears, wolves and lynx. In 2005 it received the Council of Europe's European Diploma of Protected Areas.

Information verified on 20 October 2026.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: Zărnești is ~30 km from Brașov, via Cristian and Râșnov (~40 minutes), and ~190 km from Bucharest. The Visitor Centre is on the western edge of the town, on Strada Toplița, on the road up the Bârsa valley to Plaiul Foii (~12 km from the town). For the Zărnești Gorge, leave the town to the south, past the Gura Râului Chalet, to the Fântâna lui Botorog spring, from where the gorge begins after ~1 km. On the southern side, the park entrance is at Podu Dâmboviței, on the DN73 between Rucăr and Bran.

Public transport: regional trains run from Brașov to Zărnești station (~1 hour). From the station it is ~1–1.5 hours on foot to the entrance of the gorge, along the street and then the forest road, and ~2.5–3.5 hours to Curmătura Chalet via the gorge.

Where to park

You can park at the Visitor Centre, on the road to the gorge near the Fântâna lui Botorog spring, and at Plaiul Foii Chalet. The park administration does not publish fees or rules for parking. On summer weekends the spaces near the gorge fill up early.

Fees & discounts

Park visiting fee: 10 lei for one person or 20 lei for two people, valid for 7 days; the season pass costs 40 lei. It is charged from age 14. Tickets can be bought from the blue machines at the post office in Zărnești (Strada Tiberiu Spârchez 12A), at the Visitor Centre, at Plaiul Foii Chalet and at the bridge at Valea lui Ivan, online on pcrai.ro or by text message to 7473 (Pcrai1, Pcrai2 or Pcrai5, 2 euros + VAT per person). The park fee includes the Visitor Centre; on its own, entry to the centre costs 5 lei and is free for under-18s and for residents of the communities around the park. Guided outings with the park administration cost 150 euros a day for 3 people, plus 5 euros for each additional person.

Rules

Keep to the marked trails and choose a route that matches your fitness; if in doubt, ask the park administration or Mountain Rescue. Cars, motorbikes and quad bikes are banned outside the permitted roads. Camp only in the designated areas and light fires only in the fire pits. Do not pick flowers, do not leave litter and keep noise down. To avoid attracting bears, do not keep food in your tent: hang it in a tree at least 2 m off the ground. The refuges on the ridge are for emergencies only. For the ridge you need boots, bad-weather gear, water for the whole day and experience on rocky terrain.

Facilities

Visitor Centre with wheelchair ramps, tactile paving and Braille panels · Curmătura and Plaiul Foii chalets, with meals and accommodation · emergency refuges on the ridge (Ascuțit, Grind, Șpirla, Diana, Speranțelor, Funduri) · ticket machines · weak mobile signal in the valleys