Photo: Cioboata Andrei · CC BY 3.0
Photo: Paul Gabriel Pasztor · CC BY 2.0
Lacul Gura Apelor is a reservoir of about 400 ha on the Râul Mare, in Retezat National Park at about 1,000 m, surrounded by the Retezat and Țarcu mountains. It is the starting point for trails into Retezat, Godeanu and Țarcu.
How it formed
The dam, about 168 m high, is one of Europe’s largest rockfill dams with a clay core, with three times the stone of the Great Pyramid. Work began in the mid-1970s, and builders spent about twenty years injecting concrete to stop water seeping through the left slope. In 1999 a cloudburst sent a torrent through the workers’ colony, killing 13 people, and the lake gained about 30 million m³ of water within an hour.
Visit
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
County road DJ 685 climbs the Râul Mare valley for about 25 km from Clopotiva to the dam. It is paved to the dam but badly worn, with rockfalls and landslides above all on the last 5 km between Gura Zlata and the dam, and ice from overflowing springs in winter. Guesthouses are spread along the valley. Poiana Pelegii, a popular campsite, is about 20 km beyond the dam on a dirt road.
The reservoir is one of the park’s designated camping places. Motorboats are banned here, though non-motorised boats are allowed, and open fires are banned. Bring rain gear, sturdy boots and a warm jacket, as the weather changes quickly.
Nearby lakes
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Sources & data
- Romania's 2022 Water Framework Directive reporting to the EEA: lake (LW) and transitional (TW) water bodies, field cArea, European Environment Agency (WISE WFD), reported by Romania, 2022
- OpenStreetMap: Gura Apelor (way 23986698), OpenStreetMap contributors
- Gura Apelor, un baraj de trei ori mai mare decât piramida lui Keops, EVZ
- Priveliști care dau fiori pe o șosea din Retezat (2023), Adevărul
- Tourist information, Retezat National Park Administration