Creasta Cocoșului Nature Reserve

Creasta Cocoșului Nature Reserve lies in the north-western Gutâi Mountains, in the south-eastern part of the village of Mara, Desești commune. The reserve is named after a cluster of sharp, crenellated rocks about 200 m long, running north-west to south-east at an average altitude of 1,200 m. Its summit reaches 1,428 m and is also known locally as Tifăria Gutâiului, Pana Cocoșului, Țurana Gutâiului or Piatra Mare. The name comes from the ridge's resemblance, seen from a certain angle, to a rooster's comb, and at its foot lies a plateau-like area called Poiana Boului. The Gutâi Mountains belong to the Neogene volcanic chain of the north-western Eastern Carpathians and are made up of andesites, pyroclastic rocks, basaltic andesites and lava flows. According to the Maramureș Environmental Protection Agency, most of the reserve is covered by bilberry and lingonberry heath, with dwarf juniper scrub at the foot of the crest. Plants include mountain pine, martagon lily, mountain everlasting and Carthusian pink, and the recorded birds include the golden eagle, lesser spotted eagle, corncrake, red-backed shrike and eagle owl. The area was first protected in 1954 and is listed in Law no. 5/2000 with an area of 50 hectares. It lies within the Natura 2000 site ROSCI0089 Gutâi-Creasta Cocoșului (688 ha, designated in 2007), which also includes the Lacul Morărenilor reserve. The crest has equipped climbing routes. The reserve is crossed by the red-stripe ridge trail of the Gutâi Mountains, which starts at the Gutâi Pass (987 m) on the DN18 Baia Mare-Sighetu Marmației road, passes Poiana Boului, crosses the old Drumul Măriuții road, reaches Masa Domnilor and, after Creasta Cocoșului, continues to Gutâi Peak (1,443 m) and the Neteda Pass (1,058 m). The full Gutâi Pass-Neteda Pass route is 12.7 km long and graded difficult. On clear days the crest offers views of the Rodna, Țibleș and Maramureș mountains and the Maramureș Depression.