21 April 2025 – The Panoramic Road

Miles driven today = 0

Total Miles to date = 3,872

Our hostess, Katerina, came round and introduced herself this morning and gave us a few pointers on things to do.  The area is popular with hikers and bikers and there is a “Panoramic Road” trail which departs from the campsite gates so we thought we would give that a go.  Katerina told us that we could do the trail on bikes but we chose to walk and were glad we did as it was quite rutted in places with thorny bushes overhanging which would have been difficult to avoid on a bike.   

Shortly after setting out we were able to look back across a gulley to where the van sat patiently awaiting our return.

The path climbed gently also giving us a good view looking back over the town of Koshov.

There was lots of wildlife to enjoy, especially a myriad different types of butterfly, including swallowtails.

This poor chap obviously lost his way so we made sure we stuck to the path. 

Looking away from the gorge the landscape became more arable.  This is my attempt at abstract art.

Eventually we started heading downhill again.

We had intended to continue downstream to a monastery which is hewn from the rock but I misread a crucial signpost and by the time I had realized my error we were a good way back towards Koshov.  If we weren’t on a time budget now we would both happily have stayed on for another night so that we could explore some of the other local sights on our bikes.  Another time perhaps.

These rocks balanced on top of one another reminded us of the “Playground of the Gods” in Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe where the rocks appear to have been stacked by a supernatural force.

I’m not sure if this honeycoming is the result of natural erosion or if nesting birds have created the holes.  If it was the latter there is nobody currently at home.

We played the usual game of trying to make out faces in the rock.

And we admired some impressive caves, although it would have taken a fair amount of rock hopping to access them.

I had expected to find a roaring torrent responsible for creating such impressive geology so it was a bit of an anti-climax to find that the river was actually rather sedate and muddy.  There was one point where the water gushed over a small weir and the echo from the rocks made it sound as though the water was actually hidden inside them.

As we approached Koshov the first building was very dilapidated, although one gets the impression that it may have looked quite grandiose in a past life.

We passed several more buildings in an equally ramshackle state before finally reaching the first houses of the town itself.

It’s a really stiff climb from river level back up to the campsite and the temperature was starting to make life a little uncomfortable.

But eventually we got to a point where we could see back down into the gorge and retrace our path around the final curves.

Our beer supply is running a little low.  Somebody is obviously pilfering it while we aren’t looking.  But Katerina came to the rescue with a few cans and bottles of local brews from the fridge, so we’ve enjoyed another afternoon of sitting in the sunshine.  Koukery Campsite is definitely one of our favourites of this trip and at roughly £20 including hook up, it’s an absolute steal.  We’ve even got a couple of loads of washing through the machine and hung out to dry while we were on our walk, so we’re all set to head for the border tomorrow.  Let’s go and see what Romania is all about.

22 April 2025 - 26 Degrees East