Ciucas Mountains Romania day hike – Gropșoarele Peak, Ciucaș Hut

Hike Romania is one of our soul projects in which we want to share with you our newly discovered passion for hiking. Today’s trail explores Ciucas Mountains Romania and without further ado let’s get into it.

Trail: Muntele Roșu Hut (1280m) – La Răscruce (1805m) – Gropșoarele Peak (1883m) – La Răscruce – Ciucaș Hut (1595m) – Muntele Roșu Hut

Duration: 5h30 (without breaks)

Distance: 13km

Difficulty: easy-medium with no technical or dangerous portions

Water source: only at Ciucaș Hut. Be sure you bring enough water with you (I recommend you have at least 2 liters per person)

How to get to Muntele Rosu Hut: From Bucharest, using Waze or Google Maps you will get right at the starting point of the trail. Search for “Complex Muntele Rosu“. The condition of the access road is very good, suitable for any car.

Muntele Roșu Hut – La Răscruce: 2h

The first hour is the most difficult from the entire trail because of the constant uphill hike. Once you reach La Rascruce point, the climb becomes easier with just a few slopes to go. On the final part of this portion, you can be lucky enough to find pink rhododendrons in late May and June.

La Răscruce – Gropșoarele Peak: 30 min

From La Rascruce point go right following the red crux sign to Gropsoarele Peak. Catch your breath and have a well-deserved picnic. Or you can wait and have a feast at Ciucas Hut with a cold Ciucas beer and traditional Romanian food. You’ll love it. Trust me.

Gropșoarele Peak – La Răscruce – Ciucaș Hut: 1h30

From Gropsoarele Peak go back to La Rascruce on the same path you took on the way up and continue the journey to Ciucas Hut. Just picture the cold beer and the food I told you about when you feel tired. After 30 minutes just before going into the forest you’ll see a sign saying “30 minutes to Ciucas Hut”, but unless you’re running the last portion of the trail, the estimated time is wrong, so don’t get too excited.

Once you reach Ciucas Hut, take your time and enjoy the view.

Ciucaș Hut – Muntele Roșu Hut: 1h30 – 2h

When you are ready to leave, just take the car road downhill following the yellow line mark (take care because the descent is quite steep and you can slide on the gravel). Keep an eye on the trail mark and after about 30 min of descending, leave the car road and turn left to a forest path that crosses a tiny river. After what feels like a long walk into the woods, you’ll reach the starting point of the trail.

If you enjoyed this trail through Ciucas Mountains Romania, check out this beautiful hike to Curmatura Hut.