Lunca Vișagului – Nature, Trails and Village Culture

Lunca Vișagului is a widely dispersed mountain village extending over dozens of square kilometres. Lunca Vișagului stretches across the surrounding hills; only a few houses stand in the valley. Houses belonging to Lunca Vișagului can be seen from the Zărnișoara Valley.

Landscape and Water

The Drăgan Dam stands near Lunca Vișagului and is 120 metres high. The dam is built as a double-curved concrete arch dam. Drăgan Reservoir is a protected area. It lies within the administrative territory of the municipalities of Poieni and Săcuieu and in the upper Drăgan Valley. Drăgan Reservoir covers 292 hectares. Its capacity is 112 million cubic metres of water. Piatra Bănișorului is a nature reserve. It is of county-wide importance and has landscape value. Cascada Moara Dracului is formed by a tributary of the Drăgan. This tributary flows down from Vârful Buteasa in the valley’s headwaters. In the surrounding area there is a two-tiered waterfall approximately 20 to 25 metres high.

Drăgan Reservoir is stocked with fish and is used for recreational fishing. Thus, in addition to its function as a reservoir, the body of water also has this explicitly stated use. The information on its protected-area status, surface area and capacity makes the reservoir visible as a clearly defined landscape element of the upper Drăgan Valley.

Trails and Mountains

The road section classified as a county road is designated DJ 764B. From DN1, DJ 764B runs via Valea Drăganului and Lunca Vișagului. The section leads to Drăgan Reservoir and DJ 108K. It runs from km 0+000 to km 22+165. The route is 22.165 kilometres long. The Vlădeasa Massif belongs to the Apuseni Mountains and the Western Carpathian range. Its highest peak is the 1,836-metre Vârful Vlădeasa. The hiking trail from Valea Drăganului to Cabana Vlădeasa leads to Piatra Bănișorului. Piatra Bănișorului is a rock formation. A cross stands on its summit. There is a forest road near Gura Bulzului. From there, an easy-to-walk hiking trail leads to Cabana Vlădeasa. Poiana Sentei lies along the route from Lunca Vișagului via Valea Bulzului. From there, there are views of Valea Darei.

The route descriptions combine roads, a forest road and a hiking trail with several named points in the surrounding area. DJ 764B covers 22.165 kilometres between its stated junctions. The route from Gura Bulzului to Cabana Vlădeasa is explicitly described as easy to walk, while the route from Valea Drăganului to Piatra Bănișorului includes the rock formation and the cross on its summit.

Other Places

Other places include Beliş, Negreni, Mărişel, Gilău, Câmpia Turzii, Săvădisla, Poieni and Dej.

Village and Customs

The present-day stone church of Lunca Vișagului was built in 1931. The “măsurișul laptelui” is a local celebration and a named custom. In May, the herds are brought together near the colony. Traditional farm buildings, houses and hay barns shape the village character of Lunca Vișagului. Houses decorated with flowers are also part of this village character.

For the overarching travel overview: Cluj-Napoca.