The Annunciation Day (Romanian ”Buna Vestire” or “Blagoveştenia”) is the feast that gathers, every year, a large number of tourists and pilgrims at the Durău Monastery, located at the foot of Ceahlău Mountain. On this day (the 25th of March) the Monastery celebrates its Dedication Day. After taking part in the religious service, people will enjoy fish dishes, being allowed to eat fish on this holy day.
In the popular culture, calendar the Annunciation Day is also known as the Cuckoo Day (Romanian “Ziua cucului”). The elders say that in the past people were looking forward to hearing the cuckoo sing, as long as they met three preconditions: having money in their pocket, not being hungry and not being in a bad temper.

The pilgrims who arrive at the Durău Monastery on the holy day use this as an opportunity to venture on a short mountain trip (3 to 4.5 hours long), following the two tracks starting from the Durău Resort, situated at an altitude of 800 m. Tourists can choose to reach Fântânele Château (Romanian “Cabana Fântânele”) at 1220 meters high and then arrive at Dochia Château (Romanian “Cabana Dochia”) situated at 1750 m high. They can also choose the other track that passes through The Viezuri Meadow (Romanian “Poiana Viezuri”) at 1195 m high, then the road leads to Duruitoarea Waterfall (Romanian “Cascada Duruitoarea”) – a famous natural monument. The final stop can be at Dochia Château (1750 m), but most of the time the tourists choose to climb further on a steeper trail up to the Toaca Peak (1904 m). The entire effort is fully rewarded in the end because of the spectacular mountain views tourists can admire from up there.

There are so many writings and stories around the Ceahlău Mountain that it has also become famous abroad. It is known that Ceahlău is the first mountain in Romania to have appeared in literary writings in 1716, the first mountain that has been approved for tourist routes and also the first mountain in the country for which a tourist guide has been elaborated in Iaşi, in 1840.
Situated at 10 km west of the Bicaz town and surrounded by the valleys of Bistriţa, Bistricioara and Bicaz rivers, Ceahlău is the most towering mountain of the Eastern Carpathians as famous as Athos, Tabor or Golgotha.
Known as “the mountain of prayer and shepherd”, Ceahlău is the only holy mountain in Romania which has its Dedicated Day on August the 6th (a date when Romanian people celebrate the Savior’s Changing to the Sacred) and also the place where many hermits have lived, over time.
Last, but not least, the magnificent Ceahlău Mountain is surrounded by legends and tales that intrigue through their mystery.