Vidra Lake is a storage reservoir in the Parâng Mountains, on the Lotru River in Vâlcea County, in south-central Romania, and the main reservoir of the Lotru scheme, built in the Vidra gorge. The dam and the hydroelectric plant were built between 1965 and 1972, and the associated Lotru-Ciunget plant is the second largest hydroelectric plant in Romania, after the Iron Gates stations. The Lotru supplies only a part of the regulated flow: other rivers are fed into the lake through a system of secondary diversions and intakes, with pumping stations and two high concrete double-arch dams at Petrimanu and Galbenu, whose water reaches Vidra through galleries.
How it formed
The lake is about 8 km long and up to 1.4 km wide, at about 1,289 m. Its dam, of rockfill with a clay core, is 121 m high and 350 m along the crest, and it stands in the Vidra gorge about 30 km above Voineasa. The Lotru itself supplies only about a quarter of the regulated flow.
Gallery
Photo: Nadia Dragnea · CC BY-SA 3.0
Visit
Getting there
Nearest settlement: Voineasa
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
Vidra lies beside the Transalpina road (DN67C): from the junction at Obârșia Lotrului take the road towards Voineasa and the lake unfolds on your right. Stay in campsites or cabins at Obârșia Lotrului (7 km) or in Vidra (11 km). Swimming is not recommended, as this is a cold, deep mountain reservoir used for hydropower, with no lifeguards or official beaches.
Trout is the most common catch, and you need a valid mountain-water permit, so check with the forestry or fishing association in Voineasa. The Transalpina is usually open only in the warm months (late spring to autumn), so check road conditions. Cycling routes around are demanding, and some pass through protected areas in Parâng, so check local rules.
Nearby lakes
Show on map
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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: Lacul Vidra (way 88364677), OpenStreetMap contributors
- English Wikipedia: Vidra Lake, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata: Vidra Lake (Q599713), Wikimedia Foundation
- Romanian Wikipedia: Barajul Vidra, Wikimedia Foundation
- Cycling around Lake Vidra, Komoot
- Lake Vidra, Beautiful Romania