Do you remember one of those moments when you wanted to have something so badly and to wear your name but it was just a dream?
Well, the horses from Romania do have a waterfall dedicated to them and not only that it wears the proper name but the Horses Waterfall is the biggest waterfall from the country and the legend that stays behind its name will give it a whole new twist.

Being considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls from Romania, Cascada Cailor is located on the northern side of the Rodnei Mountains close to the touristic resort Borşa from Maramureș County.
From the many marvellous things you can see while in Maramureș, Cascada Cailor represents one of the most popular sightseeing attractions which is being annually visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world who come by to check out the biggest waterfall from Romania.
The waterfall has been naturally formed and the water is provided from the melting snow during the winter and the rainy days during the summer and autumn.
The water is first collected into a glacial lake and from there the stream starts flowing on the steep slope, creating the Horses Waterfall which is being composed of 3 stages.

The first level measures a height of 40m, the next one is 20m and the 3rd one is 40m too. In total, the waterfall has a height of 120m and it represents the biggest one from Romania which is being located on an altitude of 1300m.

What fewer people know about Cascada Cailor is that its beauty is the result of 10 different waterfalls which are composing it, with heights between 5 and 50 meters and the real height of the waterfall is of 240m if we take in consideration all resources which lead to its formation.
A first challenge which is being launched by the waterfall is its canyon - Canionul Cailor, dedicated to the adrenaline lovers and for those who enjoy climbing the stone walls while admiring closely the goodliness of the waterfall.

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that the waterfall is dedicated to the horses from Romania, but the legend that stays behind its beautiful name has a tragic meaning.
At the foot of the Piatra Rea Mountain which is being located above the waterfall, it used to be the locals' favourite place where they were keeping their horses' studs starting with spring until late autumn.
Due to the extensive pastures, this place was considered heaven for the many horses but what the locals' didn't know is that the bears also prefered this area.
From time to time, the bears used to come by and try to catch one of the horses, but being an extensive pasture it was hard to make it unless the horses were not surrounded next to a ravine and make them fall into the abyss. That's how on a stormy night, more bears took advantage of the darkness of the night and the nervous horses which were already agitated by the lightning bolts and that they couldn't see well and made them run away straight into the chasm. In that night were found 15 dead horses and starting with that day not only that the waterfall earned the name of Horses Waterfall but also the mountain (Muntele Cailor/Horses Mountain), the place where the water was gathering (Podul Cailor/Horses Bridge) and the spring that comes from the waterfall (Izvorul Cailor/Horses Spring).

The access to Cascada Cailor can be made through two different directions:

The 1st one is from the ski slope located in the touristic resort Borșa from where you can opt for the chairlift that will help you go through the most of the route in just 15 minutes. The chairlift will take you to the end of the ski slope and from there you will need to walk 30-40 mins more until you reach the waterfall.
The price of one round-trip ride is 30 RON for adults (6.3EUR) and 15RON for children (3.1EUR). The chairlift starts its races from 9 AM and it ends at 5 PM, and it works during both winter and summer seasons.

The 2nd route to reach the waterfall is by following a mountain track that starts from the center of the touristic resort Borșa by following the red triangular marker and going through the forest. This trail takes a little bit longer and it measures a difference of altitude of 200m that will take you to the waterfall in ~ 1 hour and a half.