Route: easily accessible, difficult in winter
Trail markings: red cross, yellow stripe
Duration: 3–3½ hours
Our destination this time is the zoopastoral ranger station at Plaiul Poienii, along a route that crosses varied terrain with remarkable views. We start from ZAN Hotel and head toward the western side of the village. At the bridge over the Lotru River, we go down a few steps and continue south along the small road by the riverbank. Near the last house, we follow the path heading west, guided by the red cross trail marking. We climb gently for about five minutes until we reach the ridge, then continue south through the forest.
From here, we walk through a beech and spruce forest, which we leave behind after about 30–40 minutes, reaching the mountain pasture on Plǎișor Mountain, where we can admire a beautiful view of the resort town Voineasa.
As we continue along the winding trail, we can see to the north a series of peaks belonging to the Lotru Mountains: Dobrunu Peak, Cioaca Dobrunului Peak, Sterpu Peak, and others. The trail markings appear less frequently here, but by following the path we soon reach the northern ridge of Balturi Peak (1,142 m).
We cross the ridge between Moșului Stream to the east and Caprelor Stream to the west, then continue west through the beech forest. After about five minutes we reach Stevia Ridge, where we meet the ridge road that climbs from Măceșului Valley (1,078 m). From this point we can admire to the south Târnovu Mare Peak and the deep gorge of the Latoriței Gorges, as well as Vânăta Mountain and Rudăreasa Valley stretching toward its springs, where Fratoșteanu Mare Peak (2,053 m) rises in the distance.
We follow the ridge road westward and pass beneath the Ciunget–Vidra high-voltage power line, admiring the southern slopes of the peaks of the Lotru Mountains. After about 1 km, we encounter a giant beech tree (Fagus sylvatica) with a diameter of 1.5 m, declared a protected tree. From here the trail is marked with a yellow stripe and soon leads us to Gura Plaiului, where the path enters the forest. Looking west, we can admire the ridge we have just crossed, as well as the opening of Rudăreasa Valley toward the village of Ciunget. From here to Plaiul Poienii the route takes approximately two hours.
From this point it is also possible to choose a more challenging trail: a narrow path that climbs over the limestone ridge of Pietrele Albe, a demanding route that rewards hikers with extraordinary views. The ridge trail takes a little over one hour to reach Paltinului Saddle, where it meets the mountain road.
From there we follow the mountain road through the forest to the Stevia tree nursery, near the forestry station. The road then reaches the edge of a steep slope above Rudăreasa Valley, offering views of the wild landscape of this valley as well as the cliffs of Pietrele Albe, above which we previously passed. We then enter a dense spruce forest, which we cross for about one hour until reaching Plaiul Poienii (1,506 m).
Here we arrive at the zoopastoral ranger station and can admire the patches of limestone lapiez formations in the meadow above the road, or continue climbing toward the shepherd’s hut on the ridge to enjoy the surrounding mountain peaks.
For more variety on the return trip, we can descend toward Mănǎileasa Valley along the forest road and then follow the main road back to Voineasa, or take the forest road that leads into Rudăreasa Valley, from where we can continue downstream to Ciunget. From there we return to ZAN Hotel using motor transport.