Panaghia Rock

Panaghia Rock, also called Stânca Panaghiei by the park administration, is an isolated rock tower on the edge of the plateau of the Ceahlău Massif, a short distance north-east of Toaca Peak (1,904 m), in Ceahlău National Park, Neamț County. According to the park administration, the rock is about 70 m high. The landforms along the edge of the plateau were shaped by rain and wind in the Ceahlău conglomerates, the hard rocks that make up the central part of the massif. The park's management plan lists Panaghia among the abiotic features of conservation interest, in the group of isolated rocks and towers, together with Stânca Dochiei, Piatra cu Apă, Turnul Sihastrului and Acele Caprei. The same list includes Jgheabul Panaghia, one of the massif's gullies. According to a local legend recorded in 1927 by the schoolteacher Gheorghe Baltă, the two rock towers at the top of the mountain were given the names Toaca and Panaghia. The rock lies on the red-stripe trail Stațiunea Durău, Cabana Fântânele, Cușma Dorobanțului, Stânca Panaghiei, Cabana Meteo, Vârful Lespezi, Cabana Dochia, which is 7.3 km long with a height gain of 1,180 m and takes 3 to 3.5 hours uphill. From the trail that climbs from Cabana Izvorul Muntelui past Stânca Dochiei, Panaghia can be seen on the horizon to the left of Toaca Peak.