Red Lake

Info

The Red Lake is located in the Bicaz Gorges-Hăşmaş Mountain National Park from the Moldavian-Transylvanian Carpathians. It can be accessed from DN12C road which connects Transylvania with Moldova.

Oficial site here.

 

Discover

The Lake Red, together with Bicaz Gorges, is a symbol of the Bicaz Gorges-Hăşmaş Mountain National Park. The lake, situated at 983 m high on the foothill of Hăşmaşul Mare Mountain, is a natural dam lake which formed in 1837 when a landslide occurred and dammed the valley of the Bicaz river. Also known as Ghilcoş River, the Red Lake impresses anybody passing through this amazing area.

The uniqueness of this magnificent landscape is due to the strange beauty of the petrified spruce trunks emerging from the red water, and also by the mysterious dark forests which surround the lake.

The best way to experience the tranquility here is by boat, this way you can admire the petrified stumps which seem suspended between two worlds, giving the landscape its uniqueness.

Near the lake, we find the Red Lake Resort which offers tourists a serene atmosphere alluring into relaxation and some attracting itineraries for those hiking enthusiasts.

If you find yourselves in the area in September, you might get the chance to take part in the celebrations of the Red Lake Day. You will also have the opportunity to find out from the locals about the legends, traditions and customs of this area.

Did you know?

Due to the red hue of the lake, and the legends which it gave birth to, the Red Lake is also known as the “Killer Lake”.

Conservation facts

The Lake Red along with Bicaz Gorges form the Bicaz Gorges and Red Lake Preserve, a geological, aquatic, fauna, flora and landscape protected area, which in 2000 was declared a nature reserve.

At the moment the Red Lake is suffering from a natural process of shrinking with the land advancing almost 1 m per year. On the outskirts of Bicaz Gorges-Hăşmaş Mountain National Park, the forests were given back to their former owners and these forests have been cut down, therefore the lake is rapidly shrinking. According to an estimation if this process is not somehow halted, in 50 to 80 years the Red Lake will disappear altogether.

Weather


Tuesday
-2°C

Wednesday
-0°C

Thursday
1°C
Activities