Visit Nucșoara

No less than 5000 trees await you in Nucșoara, most of them beech trees (Fagus sylvatica), scattered on the pastures here. On the meadows of Nucșoara, we chose 2,544 old beech trees, a symbolic number that equals Moldoveanu, the highest peak in the Romanian Carpathians. They are witnesses of time, examples of heritage, essential sources of carbon sequestration due to their age, source of clean air and future experiences.

You can adopt a century-old tree and you can visit the meadows with century-old beech trees within easy reach of Nucșoara town hall!

The commune of Nucşoara is located in the Nucşoara Depression, being the northernmost and last commune on the Doamnei River Valley, in Argeş County. Access to Nucșoara is by paved road, the village being 180 km from Bucharest and 60 km from Pitești, the county seat of Argeș.

From Pitesti or the A1 highway in the direction of Pitesti-Est, you can reach Nucșoara on the Pitesti-Câmpulung-Brașov road (E574) to the town of Piscani and then following the Domnești-Nucșoara direction, according to the route on the map below:

From other directions, Curtea de Argeș or Câmpulung Muscel, go in the direction of Domnești and at the bridge over Râul Doamnei follow county road 731 towards Nucșoara.

Nucșoara is bordered to the north by Braşov county, to the south by Corbi commune, to the east by the communes: Rucăr, Lereşti, Albeştii de Muscel, Berevoieşti, Aninoasa, to the southwest by Brăduleţ commune, and to the west by Arefu commune.

Come to know the centuries-old beech trees of Nucșoara and discover their peace and beauty. Get your hiking gear on, grab a few friends who've been to wilderness areas before, and look for your beech trees. There is a map of all the trees, but as the project evolves we will develop additional maps and trails. Currently, we recommend that you visit the beech trees in the Partizanilor Altar area, a meadow that is sign posted from Nucșoara City Hall. In summer, you can also see spectacular wild ferns here.

For trained hikers who are used to travelling in the wilderness, we recommend using an application such as locusmap.app, where you can enter the coordinates of the beech tree you are looking for.

The commune of Nucșoara impresses with its natural beauty, unaltered by modernity, with its historical past, with the way it preserves its mountain village character. It is a land of legend located at the foot of the Făgăraș Mountains, with a disturbing past, considering the resistance to the aggressions of the communist dictatorship.

Nucșoara is located on the northern edge of Argeș County, on the border with Brașov County, on the upper course of the Doamnei River, in the Făgăraș Mountains.

The commune is composed of the villages of Nucșoara, Gruiu, Sboghitești and Slatina.

The people are industrious, serene and welcoming, and the scenery is stunning. Nucșoara is the place to escape on vacations for infusions with nature and reconnection, for hiking or just for living at a slower pace.

Right in the center of Nucșoara, you will find the largest karst lake formed on gypsum in our country. It is located at an altitude of 814 m, in the area of the Subcarpathian mountains between the Vâlsan and Doamnei Rivers and has been declared a natural monument, being included in the Măgura-Nucşoara nature reserve. The lake appeared at the end of the 19th century, has an area of 2.2 ha and a depth of 5 m and was formed in a sinkhole on gypsum, by dissolution, and then underwent subsidence processes.

Legend has it that a dragon lived here, chased away by Nucușor, the son of a mortal woman from Nucșoara and the Spirit of the Forest. On the day of Nucusor's wedding with the most beautiful girl in the village, a dragon kidnapped the bride. Nucusor found her, fought the dragon and defeated it. Being merciful, the boy spared his life, and the dragon hid at the bottom of the lake.

Moldoveanu peak is the highest in Romania, it reaches 2,544 meters and is located in the Făgăraș Mountains.

The easiest and most spectacular mountain route to Moldoveanu peak leaves from Nucșoara, through Valea Rea, starting from Stâna lui Burnei. For such an important objective, the route can sometimes be very crowded. From Nucșoara there is a forest road of approx. 37 km to Stâna lui Burnei (approx. 2-3 h by car), from where the ascent begins. The route to Moldoveanu is very steep. In the first part of the route, you climb up to an altitude of 2000 m, starting at 1400 m, you reach the plateau, cross the plateau, and from here there are two more steep climbs (the climb to Viștea, then Moldoveanu).

The route from Stâna lui Burnei is also the most spectacular, because it goes up between waterfalls such as the impressive Zbuciumatului waterfall, opposite to Stâna lui Burnei, and the Văii Rele Waterfalls, past which the route winds.

We recommend that you follow this route in a circuit, with a descent to the wonderful lakes of Mount Galbena.

Elisabeta Rizea (1912-2003) became, after 1990, a symbol of dignity and resistance against communism. Together with her husband, Gheorghe, she participated in the organization and support of the partisan group led by Toma Arnăuțoiu. She was imprisoned for her deeds between 1950-1956 and 1958-1964. Today, the house where they lived and where several members of the group took the oath, is in an extensive restoration process, to be included in the tourist circuit.

The house was built in 1931 by the Rizea couple. The room on the right was the place where the partisans of Toma Arnăuțoiu took the oath, in the spring of 1949. In the same room King Mihai I spent a night in his youth, a few years earlier, when he visited the village of Nucșoara and when he met Elisabeta Rizea for the first time, at the village council.

Casa Elisabeta Rizea (CER) is a joint project of the Elisabeta Rizea Association and the Center for Studies in Contemporary History.

More details here: casaelisabetarizea.ro

This was a place of prayer and hope, where this rock was used by the anti-communist resistance group as a gathering spot for orison. Surely it was no coincidence, because here the hand of nature worked with God to bring life from this slab.

In its hurried way just below the Moldoveanu peak, where it springs, the Vâlsan river forms wild and spectacular gorges. They are part of the Valea Vâlsanului nature reserve and are located in Brăduleţ commune, Argeș county.

After digging some of its most beautiful gorges, the Vâlsan river hides in its waters a species of fish unique in the world. It is called Asprete, a species that is 65 million years old, contemporary with the last dinosaurs. Aspretele (Romanichthys valsanicola) is the rarest fish in Europe and maybe even in the world. Aspretele managed to survive in only this place on the planet, at the foot of Făgăraş Mountains. Unfortunately, it is an endangered species, and not because it was fished, but because hydropower facilities have changed its habitat. Today, only a few dozen specimens survive.

In Nucșoara there is a rich tradition in traditional crafts, such as weaving, sewing, embroidery and sculpture or woodworking and egg painting. These crafts are passed down from generation to generation and are still practised by the locals. The people of Nucșoara also kept many traditional dances in their dowry chest, such as Hora, Sârba, Brîul, Ungurica, Alunelul, Brâul de la Nucșoara, Brâul de la Sboghițești, Ciobănașul, Marițica, Vulpea.

“Nenea” Ion Rodoș has been working since he was 3 years old, when he learned the craft of carving from his grandparents and his father. The mountain rooster - the symbol of the place, wood spoons, figurines of legends, historical figures, furniture, tridents, crosses and all other objects made by his hands speak of a legendary world and good people. With an 18-meter long wooden spoon, he even entered the Book of Records. Certified folk craftsman, Ion Rodoș is a professor of sculpture at the School of Arts and Crafts in Pitesti, member of the Club of Culture Lovers.

“Tanti” Viorica Olivotto carries on the craft of weaving and sewing traditional costumes, which she passionately passes on to children and young people in the area. Born in the village of Slatina in the commune of Nucșoara, on January 31, 1955, Viorica Milea (Olivotto after marriage) learned the craft of weaving in the family, since childhood. She comes from a large family, with 5 girls and 3 boys, she completed eight grades at the school in her native village and married at seventeen the nephew of a family of Italians who came to Romania, settled in Nucșoara.

Viorica Olivotto learned the weaving technique at war as a child, learning all the old techniques of weaving, sewing and decorating traditional costumes and other fabrics at home in the family. The shirts sewn by Viorica Olivotto are precious objects, which highlight the local tradition, bright chromatics of the surrounding nature. Certified folk craftsman, Viorica Olivotto is a teacher at the School of Arts and Crafts in Pitesti.

You come to Nucșoara to eat well, and not only on holidays, where all the houses preserve the local tradition. Here the food tastes good in all seasons, because the gardens are clean, the air is strong, the orchards are old and fruitful, and Făgăraș Mountains make everything taste good.

Grandparents' and family's recipes are cooked well in any kitchen in Nucșoara, preserved through stories or inherited. With fresh meats or vegetables, the table is immediately filled with the best of the forest, the orchards, the household, the mountain, through the talent and skill of the housewives.

We encourage you to come to Nucșoara and discover it step by step, get to know the people, customs and culture of the place. You will be surprised to find here one of the most beautiful communes at the foot of the Făgăraș Mountains.