There is a place that Romanians do not go through. They stop abruptly and then return, although what follows is fantastic / photo

There is a place that Romanians do not go through. They stop abruptly and then return, although what follows is fantastic.

Now all Romanians have become lovers of the mountain. In fact, I would not say a mountain lover, but a Facebook lover. Few people like the mountains very much. And not because I don’t want to go there, but because many people can no longer afford it. After sitting in a chair for eight hours a day and driving home, you do it by car, it seems like a great challenge to walk through the mountains.

But there have been all kinds of routes that you go on like on the boulevard. You don’t really need any physical condition, for example, to get to Babele and Sphinx. The path to get there is straight and it is rarely necessary to climb. And when you do, it’s not difficult at all.

To get to Babele and Sfinx, a fee of 10 lei is paid to the ROMSILVA National Forest Authority, Administration of the Bucegi Natural Park and, for three months, one walks freely through the area. After an hour or two of hiking, after arriving by car at the foot of the mountain, you reach Babele and Sphinx. I went two weeks ago and it was like a mall. Everyone stopped there and took pictures. You said you came to a phone showroom, not the Bucegi Plateau. At one point, a woman said, “Okay, let’s get back in the car. We have enough photos for Facebook.” The man she was with insisted on going to Omu Peak, but the woman kept hers: “I don’t want it anymore because I have enough photos.” That’s what hiking in the mountains is all about – photos on social media have become much more important than hiking itself.

And after taking a hundred photos, I take her back to the valley, missing the real show. If she took it, she would reach Omu Peak, where she would enjoy a beautiful landscape. If in Babele there were around 200 people who crowded to get a piece of rock formation in the picture, on the way to Omu peak you barely met ten people. There you didn’t have much to photograph yourself for 100 likes on Facebook. Or hey, that’s probably what Babe and Sphinx lovers think. If we lived for something more than seeing Maricica the fact that this year we reached the mountains and she did not, we could enjoy much more of the landscapes that Romania offers us. And if we didn’t crowd together to take photos of the Sphinx in the mall, especially since it’s a pandemic, it would be extraordinary. Don’t forget: what’s next after posing in Babele is fantastic: beautiful scenery, clean air, little people, and an easy route even for the sedentary. Enjoy the scenery directly with your eyes, without looking through the screen of your mobile phone.

Here is the way to Omu peak: