For those that love mountain sceneries, Neamt County offers great possibilities. Further bellow we present you a route that will guide you through one of the most beautiful areas of Romania.

The route starts in Cheile Bicazului, goes through Bicaz and continues near Izvorul Muntelui Lake and through Ceahlau National Park until it reaches Durau Resort. Here are some of the attractions from this route:

Here is the Google Map of the route Cheile Bicazului – Bicaz – Durau

The National Park Cheile Bicazului – Hasmas – Thanks to the impressive size of this natural monument called Cheile Bicazului this is one of the most interesting areas of the country. The natural borders of this protected area are represented by Suhardul Mare to the north-west and Suhardul Mic to the south-east. The rock formations from Cheile Bicazului were made in time by Bicaz Brook. This area is a protected one together with Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake), Cheile Sugaului, Hasmasul Mare and Hasmasul Negru.

The Stone „Piatra Altarului” (Altar’s Rock) – if you travel through Cheile Bicazului you’ll see a great stone with a cross on top of it: it’s the Altar’s Rock. With 1,120 m height, this is the target of many skilled alpinists. The central portion also called Gatul Iadului (Hell’s Neck) impresses by its canyon aspect.

Cheile Sugaului – Munticelu Reservation – Cheile Sugaului are a protected area and it’s an area well known for the rock formations encounter here that are in the shape of a canyon of 350 m, with a few small waterfalls. This, together with Munticelu Mountain, represents a natural wonder of rare beauty.

Ceahlau National Park – Ceahlau Mountain is the tallest of Bistrita Mountains and it represents the biggest touristic attraction in the Eastern Carpathians. Considered by the Dacia people to be the home of their god Zamolxix, the ancient name of this mountain is Pion (Peon) which means “the pillar of the house”. This is the mountain that is considered to be the second holy mountain of the orthodoxy, after the Athos Mountain. This could be one of the reasons great writers like Alexandru Vlahuta, Calistrat Hogas or Mihail Sadoveanu wrote about it.

The History and Ethnography Museum from Bicaz was founded in 1958 as a result of the complex research studies made by the Romanian Academy in the area of Dimitrie Leonida
Lake. Since 1966 the museum is located in the building of the ex village-theatre named Ion Kalinderu. The building was made at the beginning of the XX century and it’s part of the national list of architectural monuments. The permanent exhibition of the museum is organized on three main spaces which illustrate the history of Bistrita Valley and also the 102 paintings donated to Bicaz by the painter Iulia Halaucescu.

Durau Monastery was built on the place where there was a hermitage of nuns, founded in the XVII century by a daughter of Prince Vasile Lupu. The first documentary mention about Durau Monastery is from 1779 when abbot was Nazaria. The construction of the church was finished in the year 1835 and received as patron “The Good News – Buna Vestire”, the first service being held by Mitropolit Veniamin Costachi. In the year 1935 the rest of the church, that were at that time not painted, was beautifully covered with paintings that had the colors diluted in wax, by the famous painter Nicolae Tonitza and his apprentices from The Academy of Fine Arts – among them was also the painter Corneliu Baba. Under the guidance of Tonitza, the students manage to create a beautiful picture of the Romanian spirituality.

The Ruins of Cnejilor’s Pallace – the ruins were once a beautiful architectural complex where many historical events took place. Its beginnings are found in the XIII century when on this place was built a hermitage by the monk Silvestru that was under the guidance of Neamt Monastery.