Poiana Glăvoi

Poiana Glăvoi (Hungarian: Glavoj-rét) is a broad grassy meadow on the Padiș plateau in the Bihor Mountains (Apuseni), at about 1,090 m. Hiking maps and route descriptions also call it "La Grajduri" ("at the stables"). Spruce forests surround it, a forest road crosses it, and to the south runs the Glăvoi – Borțig ridge that closes the Padiș basin.

It is first of all a pasture. In 2019 the director of Apuseni Natural Park, Alin Moș, explained that the land is a pasture owned by the commune of Pietroasa. Horses graze here in summer and you may meet big Carpathian Shepherd Dogs on the meadow. At the same time Glăvoi was for many years a popular place to camp at Padiș, because the chief karst sights of the plateau are closest from here.

What to see and do

• Poiana Ponor — one kilometre to the south-east: a karst polje whose stream sinks underground.
• Cetățile Ponorului — a forest road leads from the meadow to the hut of the same name, and from there the loop marked with a blue dot descends to the 74 m high portal. The sections with cables and metal ladders are difficult.
• Four viewing balconies above the dolines, built in the 19th century by Gyula Czárán — on the same loop, on the way back to Glăvoi.

How to get there

From the Padiș tourist complex a shared stretch of the routes marked with blue and yellow dots leads to the meadow; the forest road "La Grajduri – Cetățile Ponorului hut" passes here too. The plateau itself is reached from the village of Pietroasa via Boga or by the forest road from Răchițele – Ic Ponor (details on the Padiș plateau page).

Camping, rules and safety

From 1 May 2019 camping on Poiana Glăvoi was banned: according to the news site Alba24 it was a decision of the National Environmental Guard because of litter and illegal structures, and there was no authorised campsite on the pasture. Whether the rules have changed since then could not be established from open official sources as of November 2026, so before travelling with a tent ask the Apuseni park administration (parcapuseni.ro) where camping is allowed. The best time is June to September; the cable-equipped loops are not recommended in winter.

Bears live in the Romanian Carpathians: stay on the marked paths, never leave food by a tent or a car, and near flocks do not run from the sheepdogs — stop and walk calmly around the herd. Salvamont mountain rescue: national dispatch 0SALVAMONT — 0725 826 668 or 112; advice for hikers is on salvamontromania.ro.

Nearby

Poiana Ponor, the Padiș plateau and Poiana Vărășoaia in the north of the plateau.

Photos: Szodorai Imre [Hun], CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Olgierd Rudak, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.