You know those places that when you discover you don't want to leave anymore?
Well, here's one of my findings of that kind.

Even though we usually have a very well-planned journey with the exact stops, destinations and where to sleep, the beauty of everything is when on the way to our next destination we find plenty of other things to explore or where to just stop for a few minutes to recharge our batteries with the beauty offered by nature.
And it always starts with a long road ahead without knowing where it will actually lead and what surprises and challenges we will find on the way.
It might sound funny because I just said we have a very good plan set up, but in reality, no one knows the roads we will end up on, if they lead anywhere or if it's just one of the many unpaved roads that Romania has which sooner or later will make you turn around the car and return where everything began for the sake of avoiding to remain somewhere in the woods with no phone signal and path to follow during the night.
So even if we have the destinations, the whole process until we get there is always unknown and not for a few times we faced these moments with lots of anger, fear, and even the thoughts of giving up on this type of exploration we have in our veins, always seeking for the unknown and spots where you will barely meet other tourists.

But if we would stop, then where it would be the whole fun? The thing that turns us in storytellers and makes us adventurers in the true meaning of the word? 🤔

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Anyway, while we get to explore new points of interest on the way to our destination, there is also the case of having the road you follow a destination itself because if Romania is mostly famous for the Bran Castle, then keep in mind that the nature and forests which are still covering these lands are full of unique sightseeing attractions not just in Europe but in the whole world, and hence why if you are more of an outdoors spirit, then you will get to see plenty of cool places.

So while we were staring outside the window for many minutes in a row trying to find a good spot where to stop the car and take a few pictures of the Bicaz River, we finally arrived at the dam of this one which was quite lonely from what we expected to see but that made no exception and surprised us with landscapes full of colours and fresh air to fill our lungs with.
I know that perhaps is hard to notice how big the lake and dam are from my pictures, but to make an idea about it, find out that Bicaz Lake is the largest artificial lake in Romania measuring 32,6 km²!!!
Just imagine how much it takes you to surround it and leave it behind during a drive with your car. That's crazy and exciting at the same time!
However, with such impressing numbers and a little over 60 years since the dam was built, it would be impossible for the dam not to have some tasks to take care of, so this one ended up supplying the 210 MW hydro plant that was built during the communism also with the forced labour performed by political prisoners.
However, the length and surface covered by the lake are not the single imposing parts of it because its height is close to 130 meters from which 30 meters are part of the underground world, thus placing the dam as the 3rd highest such construction in Romania and 9th in Europe.

Though, as most dams come with some sacrifices too, the process of building up Bicaz Dam requested to displace no less than 22 villages from the area with over 18,700 locals. Happily, the construction was made to resist in front of an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, so all the people living in the cities and villages nearby can sigh in relief that not a drop from the over 1,3 billion cubic meters of water won't reach their houses.

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Along with the boring name of Bicaz Dam and Lake, there are still people calling it the "the sea between the mountains" which it rightfully deserves this name. However, there are quite a few activities that people can enjoy here if they like fishing or roaming with a boat to feel closer to what nature offers.

The fish you can find and catch in the lake are trout, bream, barbel, tench and huchen, where we remember trout as being the best proof that one water is potable if this one crosses it. Hence why, if you are looking for some water to buy from the market, you shouldn't be surprised to see bottles with Cheile Bicazului written on them because the water did beat many national and European records and it was right in time to have this in the shops!

Anyway, building up the dam which took around 10 years to be completed, didn't only request lots of cement blocks but also, tears, sweat and loss of human life because the adduction gallery was executed in very difficult geological conditions with inexperienced people that faced very high infiltration water pressures, as well as gas infiltrations.
Hence why just a single explosion caused by a single gas infiltration took the lives of 30 people out of 1600 that worked on the dam between 1950-1960.
Even though no one can bring back those lives, I was happy to see that there was raised a large monument in the memory of those who sacrificed themselves through work which can be seen at the end of the bridge.
It's true that not everyone worked with desire as there were quite a lot of prisoners forced to work, but in the end, we wouldn't have anything from what we can see these days without their contribution, so hopefully, we will have the dam last as long as possible and be able to return here every once in a while and find it more and more beautiful with the mountains that seem like meeting the water and create so unique landscapes.

There are two ways to get to the dam depending if you are accessing it from the northern or southern side of it but if you are coming from N then Toplița – Borsec – Poiana Largului driving on DN15 is the best option for it. You can also consider Târgu Neamț – Pipirig – Poiana Largului on DN15B or Vatra Dornei – Broșteni – Borca – Poiana Largului on DN17B depending on which is closer to you.

If you are coming from S then Bacău – Piatra Neamț – Bicaz on DN15 is the most recommended road, or Gheorgheni – Lacul Roșu – Bicaz on DN12C if you also want to see Lacul Rosu and Bicaz Gorges that I presented in my previous posts.

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾

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