Winter trail on Clăbucetul Taurului Peak, Azuga

Are you looking for an accessible winter trail with beautiful views, but want something different from the Bucegi Mountains? Clăbucetul Taurului Peak is a great choice, with a superb view of the Bucegi Mountains.

Technical details

Starting point: Azuga, on the DN1 towards Predeal (the point on Google Maps)
Arrival point: back to Azuga (but you can continue to Predeal if you are not constrained by the car left in Azuga)
Difficulty: easy - medium (suited for one day trip)
Distance:: 10-12km
Trail marking: blue triangle most of the route – with an intermediate stop: Cabana Gârbova
Time: ~4–6 hours, depending on walking pace and breaks; in winter, the route is more difficult due to snow

Recommended equipment

Trail description

 I should mention that we did this route with the help of guide Mihai from GetOutRomania, whose hiking program can be found on InstagramI recommend going with him because the proposed tours are super cool, for all levels, and you can also go abroad to the mountains if you don't have anyone to go with. We didn't know anything about this route and preferred to go with someone who knows what they're doing. You can also rent crampons and ice axes from him if you don't have any.

At first, the trail starts in the forest on a fairly easy climb, nothing to be afraid of. After about 20 minutes, the climb becomes more difficult and sustained, mainly because of the snow. After about 1h30 min – 1h45 min, you reach a clearing where there is a fork: either towards Cabana Gârbova or towards the peak. We first climbed to the peak because it was early in the morning and we wanted to catch the alpine sea.

Once we reached the top of that unmarked trail in about 30 minutes, we were truly amazed by the landscape that unfolded before us: the Bucegi Mountains in all their splendor and majesty, completely covered in snow on one side, and on the other side, the rest of the Baiului Mountains and the slopes of Azuga. We were extremely happy that we chose to take this route because we knew nothing about it, and the view seemed superb to me!

Then we walked towards Cabana Gârbova for almost an hour on an easy, ridge trail, surrounded by stunning scenery. After spending an hour at the cabin enjoying hot tea and delicious soup, we headed back to Azuga on Drumul Tunului. The descent back to the resort took about 2 hours and 30 minutes through the forest, with no view of the mountains, but it was a relaxing moment, as it was not a steep descent.

We found it to be an easy route, perfect for a shorter trip, as we completed it in 6 hours, including a stop at the cabin. There are no technical or scary sections, the ridge is very accessible, and the forest is not very dense. It is not very popular and probably not recommended in bad weather because there is nowhere to take shelter at the top.

How does this route look? Let me know in the comments and keep following me because I have more routes to share 🙂