Discovering Tinovul de la Fântâna Brazilor is not just a random walk in the forest but a path filled with adrenaline and challenges at every step that is surrounded by lots of unique plants that you won't meet in other place.

While if you scroll down on my profile you will find tens of caves, waterfalls, gorges, lakes and dams explored, there are also these other locations that present either a unique rock formation, statue, stones that are dating since the Jurassic Age and a lot more.
Though, still not a very common theme for my posts is also represented by the peat bogs or swamps that I get to discover a new one every few years just because there are not too many in Romania, or at least not from what I know.
Happily, today's post includes one of these which we were in doubt if we should explore or not just because there was a big warning sign at the beginning of the trail showing that the camping and exploring is forbidden unless is made with a guide just because there are some risks deep in the forest like a very fragile bridge that from time to time is ruined, but also because we are talking about a region very populated by bears.
And before you think that we made an illegality following the track without a guide, we did try to call on the phone number left on the informative panel but there was no one responding to our calls so we kind of refused to think that we drove such a long way to this place without being able to visit it.

And that's how we decided to give it a try and explore the peat bot by ourselves... but of course, being very careful on the sounds we hear in the forest and what surrounds us, lol.

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It's true that the beginning of the bridge didn't seem too safe to follow not being sure if this is how it looks on the whole track, but after we tried every wood plate with our foot first and made sure that it doesn't sink, we continued our journey which honestly happened on a different rhythm than the one we are used of just because there were no other tourists, nor locals. So definitely not a cool spot where to meet some bears.

Though, as bad most of the bridge looks like, as much I enjoyed seeing plenty of informative panels with lots of cool details about the species that you will notice surrounding you. If these panels wouldn't exist then all the species would remain an enigma since we didn't have a guide with us, but happily we managed to find more about them by ourselves.

However, I doubt that the rain or people made the bridge look like that but rather some bears that crossed by because we are talking about some really heavy animals that can get to 400+ kg when they are adults and since the bridge was built with the intention of having some tourists following it occasionally, I'm sure no one thought about making it too strong.

An important aspect to keep in mind is that Tinovul de la Fântâna Brazilor represents a protected area of high interest located on the eastern side of Transylvania, on the territory of Harghita county that I kept mentioning in my posts that is very populated with bears.
That's how on our road trip around Romania we didn't see any bears in any of the days spent in other county but counted easily around 13 bears noticed in 3 days during our stay in Covasna and Harghita counties that are next to each other.
While many tourists are travelling to these sides of Romania just for the sake of seeing bears on the streets and cars making slowly their way between the imposing animals, on the same line we meet those who feed the animals and make them become aggressive when they meet someone that doesn't throw them food.
So while bears are far from aggressive animals or those that will start running over people for no reason, people themselves are the guilty ones who make them more aggressive by confounding them with dogs which is not a problem to share food with.

And I'm saying that from my own experience because while exploring another unmarked trail not populated with tourists, I and my father met a bear in the forest but the bear was more scared than us and simply ran away when he heard us talking, without being needed to confront him in any way.

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While the peat bog covers a total surface of 41 ha, there are just a few hundreds of meters that can be explored by following the wooden bridge which will take you to the fountain, because the name of the swamp could be translated as the fountain between the fir trees which made us really curios to discover.

It's true that the peat bog might have this name just because the village where it's located has the same name, but we did feel that we could find an explanation for this if we follow the path till the end which is also where we've met some sort of interactive puzzle that can be a lot more fun for the kids than adults, but also an uncommon fountain that lets you take out of the swamp a decent part of it that shows you in detail what's the path you actually step over.

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Even though we are not strangers from what a peat bog or swamp means and that it can become quite tricky sometimes giving you the impression that you are being sink by the nature, we've never got the chance to take out a part of this one and touch it.

Anyway, for those who never explored this kind of elements offered by nature, we are talking about a phenomenon close to what quicksand means but where some plants grow on top of a lake forming a natural sponge that absorbs water and that's how it creates new layers of vegetation that strengthen the whole composition. The thickness of this natural sponge is different from a peat bog to another talking about some where this one gets meters of thickness but also about areas where if you cross over you will get sunken in no time. The swamp we are talking about has mostly a thickness of 11 meters but there are also a few exceptions like the area from where you can take a part of it out.

And that's exactly why it's always better to step over wood no matter how fragile it looks or not because the wood will always stay on the surface and keep you safe. Though, it's some kind of adrenaline that you definitely won't get to feel in other circumstances and I totally love it.

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Therefore, if you decide to chase a floating experience over a peat bog or swamp, it's not all about adrenaline but also about the rare species you will meet around you that are not something you will discover in other situations. We are talking here about carnivorous plants, fruits very similar to the cranberries and blackberries but which are very toxic being more powerful than any other poison used for rats or other animals.

All these, along with the scarry landscape with half of the trees being completely dry, show how powerful nature is and that people can be some tiny pawns on the table in the absence of knowledge.

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If you are wondering what's happening with the forest and why most of the trees are either not very tall or getting dry, there is also an explanation to that, namely that the proper substances they actually need in order to grow are placed just under the 11 meters of natural sponge which stops them from getting all is needed for a healthy living as they enjoy in normal forests.

So on top of the height of those trees surrounding you, add 11 meters to calculate their real length and you will get a closer result to what the height of a pine forest really is. Also, the forest you will meet within this peat bog represents the largest population of natural pine trees from the whole country.

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In order to reach Tinovul de la Fântâna Brazilor you have to get in Corund which is a fairly popular village in Harghita county, from where you will need to drive 10 km more until you reach Fântâna Brazilor village. From this point you will need to follow a forest path until you discover the entrace to the peat bog that can be quite hard to be accessed during the rainy periods but which is definitely worth being visited.

The GPS coordinates are: 46.50387N, 25.25409E

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾

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