Arama Neagră

Arama Neagră (Rom. Vârful Arama Neagră, “Black Copper”) is a 1,538 m peak in the Giurgeu – Hășmaș Mountains (Eastern Carpathians), in Harghita County. Its main attraction is the geographic source of the Mureș River located nearby: on the site, it is marked as Izvorul Mureșului Spring, about 180 m from the summit. According to muntii-nostri.ro, a 150-meter spur marked with a blue dot in a blue circle leads to it from the Izvoru Mureșului hut, which stands on the western slope. Near the summit, about 300 m away, the site marks Hut below Arama Neagră.

The nearest settlements are Izvoru Mureșului (about 4.6 km as the crow flies), Heveder (about 5.2 km), and Voșlăbeni (about 6.8 km). The highest peak of the massif, Hășmașul Mare, lies about 8.6 km to the northeast.

Getting there / routes

The blue dot loop starts at the National Sports Complex in Izvoru Mureșului. According to muntii-nostri.ro, the trail goes to the railway station, turns right after the tracks, and follows a dirt road out of the resort. It then keeps to the edge of a deciduous forest, enters a fir forest, and climbs steeply to the summit. From there, it descends west past the Izvoru Mureșului hut, steeply down the blue stripe to the Arama Neagră clearing, and returns via a dirt road. The loop is 12.9 km, about 5 hours 45 minutes, and 709 m ascent — of medium difficulty.

From the village of Heveder, the yellow stripe route leads via Arama Neagră to the town of Bălan (17.9 km, about 7.5 hours, 807 m ascent). According to the same source, the trail follows the ridge of the Conia hill, bypasses the Bükkfa summit from the south, reaches the Arama Neagră saddle, and climbs steeply to the top. It then continues along the ridge from west to east; after about 800 m in a clearing, the markings disappear, so you must cross the clearing diagonally down to the right to the forest road. The route then passes the Piatra Scrisă summit and descends to Bălan via Minelor street.

From Arama Neagră, the blue stripe leads to Șugău Cave and the Șipoș peak (8.6 km, about 5 hours, 654 m ascent): from the Arama Neagră clearing, it descends to the Balog stream valley, then through the Lok and Șugo valleys to the Șugău Cave — a speleological reserve, and from there climbs steeply to Șipoș. The authors describe this route as relatively easy, with a few steep slopes.

Safety, season and rules

In the forested Giurgeu Mountains, trail markings can be lost in clearings — have an offline map. Șugău Cave is a speleological reserve, so respect nature protection rules. Bears are common in the Romanian Carpathians: stay on marked trails, make noise, avoid dusk, and do not keep food in your tent; near sheepfolds, sheepdogs may attack — do not run, stop and shield yourself with your backpack (advice from Salvamont România).

In case of emergency, call the national mountain rescue dispatcher 0SALVAMONT — 0725 826 668 or 112.