Caraiman Peak

Caraiman Peak (Romanian Vârful Caraiman) is a 2,384 m summit in the Bucegi Mountains of the Southern Carpathians in Romania. It stands on the eastern edge of the Bucegi plateau above the Prahova valley: the town of Bușteni lies only 3.4 km to the east but more than a kilometre lower. The mountain is easy to recognise from afar – a giant steel Heroes' Cross stands on one of its slopes and can be seen from the Prahova valley, from the Bucegi plateau and even from the ridge of neighbouring Piatra Mare.

To the south Caraiman is separated from Jepii Mici by the deep Jepilor valley, also called the Caraiman valley: at the edge of the plateau it drops over a step of almost 200 m – the Caraiman waterfall – and then falls steeply to Bușteni. To the north, beyond the Albă valley, rises neighbouring Coștila.

How to get there / trails

The most convenient start is the upper station of the Babele cable car (about 2,170 m), 1.9 km from the summit; a gondola climbs there from Bușteni. From the station a trail marked with a red cross leads over Caraiman to the Sugărilor saddle. A short link marked with a red dot connects the Caraiman mountain hut on the edge of the plateau with the Heroes' Cross. On the south-eastern slope, according to Romanian Wikipedia, the tourist path Brâna Mare a Caraimanului (the Great Ledge of Caraiman) links the upper Jepilor valley with the saddle where the cross stands. Climbs from Bușteni up the steep valleys are long, with a big height difference; cable-car timetables change, so check them in advance.

What you can see from the summit

From the cross and the summit you look down on the Prahova valley with Bușteni and the rounded Baiu Mountains beyond it, and along the edge of the plateau to the walls of Coștila and Jepii Mici. From the Babele station you can also see the Babele rocks on the plateau.

Nature and history

The Heroes' Cross (Romanian Crucea Eroilor Neamului) was built in 1926–1928 at 2,291 m in memory of the Romanian soldiers who fell in the First World War. It was made of riveted steel profiles and set on a stone pedestal over 7 m high; sources give the height of the cross itself as 28 to 31 m. At night electric lamps light its outline. In 2014 Guinness World Records recognised it as the tallest summit cross at such an altitude. Building materials came by rail to Bușteni; from there part went by ox cart via Sinaia and the plateau, and the rest by the paper mill's cableway up the Jepilor valley, from where loads were carried on horses and donkeys.

For a long time the initiative was attributed to Queen Marie and King Ferdinand. However, according to Romanian Wikipedia, the researcher Paul Adrian Cristescu found evidence in the Bușteni newspaper Tricolorul of 1 January 1922 that the idea came from the local community, and that the cross was built with the help of railwaymen, the Sinaia mountain-troops brigade and many volunteers.

The name is explained in two ways: from the Turkic words kara (black) and imam, meaning “black leader” – a version supported by the historian Nicolae Iorga – or from the word karaman. A legend published in 1927 tells of the kind giant wizard Caraiman with a magic bagpipe, killed by his own greedy sons; his tears are said to have formed the streams on the slopes, and in storms the mountain still moans with his voice.

Safety, season and rules

The summit lies in Bucegi Natural Park, which requires a visitor ticket (10 lei per adult for three months, online or from the rangers). Caraiman's eastern slopes are precipitous: stay on the marked paths, especially in fog. In winter avalanches come down the steep slopes and valleys of the Bucegi – before you go, check the snow and avalanche bulletin at meteoromania.ro.

Many bears live in the Bucegi. The park and Salvamont advise walking in a group and talking, not hiking at dusk or at night, keeping dogs on a leash, never approaching a bear or running from it, and not leaving food near your tent. In an emergency call the national dispatch 0SALVAMONT – 0725 826 668 or 112. Bear advice is on the website of Bucegi Natural Park.

Photos: Peles2ro, Public domain; Bluecipo, CC BY-SA 3.0; Andrei-Daniel Nicolae from Coventry, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0; Andrei Stroe, CC BY-SA 3.0; Papa3, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.