I Just Visited the Most Unique Waterfall in the World

This is a repost from my old blog. Original post date August 26, 2013.

Last week I was watching the news on TV just to discover that according to THE WORLD GEOGRAPHY the most unique waterfall in the world is just about 150 km away from where I live. Being so close it would be a sin not to go and see it. So last Sunday my wife and I went on a drive to visit Bigar Cascade Waterfalls.

The largest city in it's vicinity is Timisoara, where I live. The waterfall itself is located near a small village called Bosovici, exactly on 45 Paralel. There are several ways to get from Timisoara to the Bigar Cascade Waterfalls.

1. The shortest road - Timisoara - Moravita - Oravita - Bigar. It is the shortest road but unfortunately about 1/3 of it is in pretty bad shape. The road is all paved with asphalt, but about 50 km between Moravita and Oravita was repaired so many times that you will not be able to recognize the original layer. It will shake you quite hard. Even though you can go quite fast (80-100 km/h) it will not allow you to push as hard as you would like. The portion Timisoara - Moravita is in very good shape, but being a road that leads to the border with Serbia, it is quite heavily used and again you will find yourself blocked behind some slow car and you will not be able to go fast.
2. The longest road - Timisoara - Recas - Lugoj - Resita - Anina - Bigar. It si about 30-35 km longer than the first option. It has very good road and asphalt quality. The only drawback with it is that Timisoara - Recas - Lugoj is one of the most heavily used roads in the country. So that 60 kms will be pretty uncomfortable to drive.
3. The one I recommend - Timisoara - Buzias - Lugoj - Resita - Anina - Bigar. This is the one I recommend. Road and asphalt quality is very good. It is not heavily used so you will be able to drive at your own pace all the way to Bigar. It is about 20-25 kms longer than the first option but it is arguably the fastest way to get from Timisoara to the Bigar Cascade Waterfalls. It is also the most spectacular road. You start your trip on plain. Then you go through forests, then hills, then mountains and canyons. The most spectacular part is Anina - Bigar where you will be able savor abrupt serpentines on high altitudes in canyons and mountain forests.

But this should be a story about Bigar. Near the road, following some hand-painted road signs you will find a small waterfall hidden in a valley. The easiest way to recognize the entrance is the big 45 Parallel sign "Paralela 45", a big white road sign with blue letters. You will have to pay a visit tax of about 1 Eur for 2 persons (5 RON). A small bridge over the valley will lead you just above the waterfall to a tiny, beautiful miracle of nature.

On one side of this valley is the Bigar Cascade Waterfall in all of it's glory.

After you are tired of hiking on the rocks around the waterfall and taking pictures and admiring this wonder of nature you can get on a short trip (100m) in the forest to find the waterfall's water source.

 

Just follow the water and the path laid to you.

 

After a few minutes you will find the cleanest water you've ever seen. Just perfect for drinking as it surfaces between the rocks.

That's it folks. The Bigar Cascade Waterfalls and it's source.

If you have time and mood after visiting the Bigar Cascade Waterfall you can go and see some of the oldest water mills of these mountains located in and just after the village called Eftimie Murgu, 15 km distance from Bigar. There are 22 small mills, you can visit about 10 of them. It will take about 1-2 hours to walk near the river and find the mills, so be prepared for a long walk in a quite spectacular mountain landscape.

The mills are small, made of wood, and located in the valley created by the water.

They are all similar but slightly different. The most known characteristic of these mills are the horizontal wheels turned by the water.

 

So, if you happen to be in this part of Romania, the Bigar Cascade Waterfall and the water mills are certainly a great place to visit and spend a day in the mountains with spectacular panoramas.

And finally a little warning. Unfortunately we could not find a single decent place to eat. Nor near Bigar or in Bosovici or on the road. So be prepared with some food for the day when you live from Timisoara.