Canyon ride

The people of the guesthouse thought we were crazy when we left at 6:30am. But we wanted to get out of the city early to avoid the worst traffic. We left Targu Jiu to the West. The further we got away from the city, the fewer cars were on the road and the more mountains we saw.
After 20km, we had our breakfast break at a gas station which had some tables outside. The guy behind the counter was nice, so we chatted a bit in sign language about our trip.
Afterwards, we climbed up to 900m of elevation and passed some remote villages. The descend was spectacular. The road led through a canyon next to a river and we were surrounded by high walls. The area is a National Park called Domogled Valea Cernei and is stunning. Towards the end of the canyon, the mineral spas of Baile Herculane are based where we planned to stay. We didn't go to the spa though as it was too touristy and busy. The campgrounds were a bit crowded, too, but people were nice. So we pitched our tent and had a couple of Radler with our dinner.
We also could have done wild camping easily. But campgrounds in this area cost about 2-3€ and we prefer having a clean camping area with a toilet instead of the popular wild camp spots that are usually full of rubbish.Read more