Bigar, the once stunning waterfall that is collapsing!

Guys, we have been driving across a beautiful area in western Romania where there are several National Parks. To drive in such an environment is very nice if you like nature. The problem was that we got very excited yesterday exploring nature trails and missed searching for a place to stay. Already very late, we built the tent somewhere in the darkness haha. Yesterday night, it looked like an ok spot. This morning, our mistakes in choosing it were very clear hahaha, we were in the forest. It was a bit steep and rocky. To sleep and wake up today was not easy at all! But a new day was ahead so we saw each other and screamed “are we brave or coward?”. We concluded we are brave but in severe need of a coffee!

We stopped in Bozovici, Romania. When we located it on the map, it looked promising. Everything is green around! It’s very close to the Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park. But when we arrived, the town was not very attractive. It was dusty, many pedestrian zones were broken, and the tourist information office was closed but it looked like nobody has been there a long time ago. We thought we needed more than a coffee, to change the route immediately to find something interesting and to boost our mood.

Suddenly, we saw a local, small coffee shop. We opened the door and a Romanian lady immediately said “niu serviciu”. We (Martin and I) saw each other and laughed. We looked like zombies and we scared the lady hahaha. We didn't have the most comfortable night. Anyway, I used the translator to explain we were tourists only looking for a coffee. She asked about our nationality. We answered “Mexican and Bulgarian”, hoping our countries were not banned from her coffee shop hahaha. 

Fortunately, she smiled and pointed to a table for us to wait for the coffee. It seems this town was a must-stop for tourists to get into the National Park or at least to visit the waterfall. Now, most people skip it and go directly to the attractions. The lady turned out to be kind, only nervous about the presence of strangers. Using the phone translator, she strongly recommended keeping the same direction not to miss the Bigar waterfall (Bigăr cascadă). The coffee was a good one! She was kind so we followed her advice.

Where is the Bigar waterfall (Bigăr cascadă)?

The Bigar Waterfall is located in the west part of Romania, in Caras-Severin County. Your GPS will show it easily. Being in Bozovici, we were only 10 or 12 kilometers away from the waterfall. The road is in good condition. And there’s a comfortable and free parking area. Based on the direction you drive, it can be a bit after or before the waterfall. Then, you have to walk a short distance to the waterfall, and there you will find some souvenir sellers and at least a couple of food stands (during Spring or Summer only).

Here you have a driving instruction from Bozovici to Bigar waterfall with car with Google Maps.

Why is the Bigar waterfall famous? - Description.

Here we will give you an objective description of the waterfall and then, our personal opinion. Bigar waterfall is mostly a big rock bell-shaped, totally covered with moss. The moss looks like a green carpet and over it flows a spring of groundwater. Due to this shape, the water falls in many sorts of strings, creating a special effect not very common in most of the waterfalls we have seen. It’s not the typical string of water falling with power from a great high. This waterfall is an exotic bell-shaped rock around 8 meters high.

The waterfall is very famous but honestly, it was not stunning for us. It’s a beautiful nature spot but we understood that the waterfall is famous not because of its impressive amount of water or height. Its fame came due to its uncommon bell shape. If you check on the Internet, you will find that Bigar waterfall is ranked number one on a list of unique waterfalls in the world. So you easily can create wrong expectations. As I said, once in place, the Bigar waterfall is beautiful but not so stunning. Its shape and the way it spreads the water in different water threads around the rock make it a different waterfall, an exotic one. Besides, it’s exactly located on the 45th north parallel, at a halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator.

And the waterfall is the result of a bigger nature treasure, the Bigar spring that is fed by the groundwater running through the Bigar cave in the Anina Mountains. This spring flows at a certain point, into the Minis River. The whole has been a protected Romanian area since 2000 (176 hectares in total). 

If you like exploring, you can go further to see more of the Bigar spring and the entrance to the cave. Access to the cave is forbidden but you can get a cool pic, after a short climb, at its entrance. The risk is you can get enchanted by the forest and its treasures so you will feel like exploring the complete Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park. And it’s not a bad idea at all!

How did the Bigar waterfall form?

The Bigar waterfall it’s a natural creation. It’s the result of the calcium carbonate deposits generated by the water of the Bigar spring. With time, they get covered by moss and the calcium petrifies it (the moss). Travertine is created during this process. New layers of moss appear constantly so the size of the surface gets bigger and bigger through time.

Is it true that the Bigar waterfall collapsed?

Yes, it is true. On June, 2021, the company in charge of the forest management reported that a 4-meter wall of the Romanian Bigar waterfall collapsed. The reasons for its fall were natural. As we already mentioned, this type of waterfall is constantly growing due to the calcium carbonate deposits that get covered by different layers of moss. It seems the Bigar waterfall reached such dimensions that its weight made the wall collapse.

Experts said the waterfall will regenerate and grow again. It’s only a matter of time. But the cycle will involve collapsing of the travertine too. Light or dramatic collapsing, who knows, but it will happen. 

Maybe we were just not lucky this time. This was our first encounter with the Bigar waterfall (Bigăr cascadă) and the previous collapse happened just last year. It can be the reason for us not to be stunned by it. 

Visiting hours and entrance fee to the Bigar waterfall.

There’s no entrance fee to visit the Bigar waterfall and you can take a look at it, at any time. It’s not in a closed area. It’s nearby the road. So you have to pass through there, park your car and walk a bit to find it. 

Conclusion.

It was nice to visit the exotic Bigar waterfall! It was not as stunning as it’s promoted, but it gave us the boost we needed to continue exploring Romania. Consider this waterfall is the tip of an iceberg, meaning it’s only one proof of all the natural beauties the Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park has in store for you. In any case, if you don’t want to miss this natural beauty don’t waste time. Beautiful things can collapse so better pack and go!

Our next stop is going to be Timisoara, Romania and then we will go to Hungary, so follow us on: 

Check out our previous stops too:

Orsova (Romania).

Vidin (Bulgaria).

Belogradchik (Bulgaria).

They are all in a reachable distance by car, from Bigar (Romania), so you can also visit them.