Cheile Zugrenilor

Cheile Zugrenilor is one of the most spectacular natural formations along the Bistrița valley, located in the northern part of the Munții Bistriței, Suceava County, approximately 20 km downstream from the town of Vatra Dornei, between the villages of Sunători and Chiril, within the administrative territories of the communes of Dorna-Arini and Crucea. The gorge formed where the Bistrița River forced its way between Masivul Giumalău and the towering wall of Pietrosul Bistriței, carving a narrow defile approximately 2.5 km long through hard crystalline schist rocks, including crystalline limestone. The sheer walls of the gorge reach heights of between 200 and 300 metres and feature bizarrely shaped rock formations bearing picturesque names such as Colțul Acrii, Piatra lui Osman, Grindul Pușcatei, Râpa Scara, and Stânca Coifului; along its course, the Bistrița River forms numerous rapids, whirlpools, and deep pools. The area is protected as a nature reserve of national interest, of geological and floristic type, and is included in the Natura 2000 site Pietrosul Broștenilor–Cheile Zugrenilor. The reserve shelters a rich and rare flora, including edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) — the rocks here representing one of the lowest elevations in the country where this species grows — as well as the endemic Andryala levitomentosa and rock bellflowers. The clear waters of the Bistrița are home to a population of huchen, and the area is also important for the brown bear and other protected species. Cabana Zugreni, situated on an island surrounded by the waters of the Bistrița, serves as a starting point for mountain trails towards the Rarău–Giumalău massifs and the Munții Bistriței, while in winter, ice climbing can be practised at Cascada Moara Dracului within the gorge.