OFF068 Eșelnița – Eftimie Murgu

The road between Eșelnița and Eftimie Murgu is part of the TET Romania route and crosses the Almăjului Mountains from southeast to northwest, exceeding an altitude of 1000m and passing through the vicinity of the Svinecea Mare peak (1224m altitude). The route has 2 parts of equal length, half climbing and the second part only descending.

The climbing portion

The road starts from DN52 at the entrance to Eșelnița as you come from Orșova on the right side. The first part of the road appears on the map as Arinilor Street. As soon as we enter, the asphalt ends and we enter a gravel road. After about 2 kilometers we leave Eșelnița and enter the forest. For about 17 km we will climb gently through the forest along the Eșelnița river valley. You will need to pay attention to two things. The first aspect is the road surface which is very good and entices you to go fast, but on the ground there are a lot of rounded pebbles and it can be quite easy to slip. You will also have to be careful with navigation because there will be about 2-3 forks where you can easily take the wrong road.

After about 19Km traveled in this valley, the road begins to climb more sharply. If so far we have climbed about 550m in altitude in the next 6 Km we will climb another about 400 m. This last section to the top is the most spectacular because there are sections where the trees thin out and it is the first time we can admire the surrounding landscape.

What I find interesting in this area is the appearance of the vegetation which looks a bit more “Mediterranean” compared to other areas in the country.

You will realize that you have reached the top when you pass by a stone quarry that seems abandoned. Here follows a relatively horizontal section where quite large puddles are easily formed that persist for a long time after it has rained. After passing this section, you will reach a fork where you will have to take a left. From here the descent begins.

The descent section

The descent begins with a somewhat more difficult section, with many bumps, mud in places and deep ruts. Then we enter the forest again and after a few kilometers we enter the riverbed again. We are in the valley of the Rudăriei River which we will follow until the end of the route in the village of Eftimie Murgu.

Unlike the ascent section where the road was quite good and dry, on this side, the forest seems to be thicker, everything is wetter and there are streams of water flowing on the road. Thus, this section of the route is more difficult because regardless of the weather there will be wet and even muddy sections.

The last kilometers are paved and we will first go through the Rudăriei Gorges and then we will reach the famous water mills at Eftimie Murgu which can be visited.

The route is not very spectacular but it has something special. The slightly more abundant vegetation as well as the fact that there are very few signs of civilization along the way give it a special touch of mystery.