Toaca Peak

Toaca Peak stands at the northern end of the upper plateau of the Ceahlău Massif, in Ceahlău National Park, Neamț County, and rises to 1,904 m, surpassed in the massif only by Ocolașul Mare (1,907 m). The summit is a pyramid-shaped rock tower, and the Ceahlău-Toaca weather station operates at its base. A short distance to the north-east rises Panaghia Rock. The summit area is a botanical nature reserve of 24.14 ha (IUCN category IV) within Ceahlău National Park. Data from the weather station show a mean annual temperature of 0.7°C on the summit, compared with 7.2°C in Ceahlău village, and about 193 frost days a year. The metal access staircase, made up of 60 sections with more than 500 steps, opened in the autumn of 2018 and was funded by the Neamț County Council at a cost of about 100,000 euros. It climbs from beside the weather station, at about 1,771 m, to 1,893 m. It replaced a wooden staircase installed in the 1970s. According to a local legend recorded in 1927, the peak takes its name from a toacă, a wooden semantron, placed on the highest rock tower of the mountain. The red-stripe trail Stațiunea Durău, Cabana Fântânele, Cușma Dorobanțului, Stânca Panaghiei, Cabana Meteo, Vârful Lespezi, Cabana Dochia passes below the summit. It is 7.3 km long with a height gain of 1,180 m, taking 3 to 3.5 hours uphill and about 2 hours 20 minutes downhill. The park administration lists it as usable in winter after checking the weather.