Retezat National Park

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Retezat Mountains, near camping site Bucura
Retezat Mountains, near camping site Bucura

Retezat National Park, located in Hunedoara county, Romania, was founded in 1935 and has an area of 380 km².

Containing more than 60 peaks over 7,500 feet and over 100 crystal clear deep glacier lakes, the Retezat Mountains are some of the most beautiful in the Carpathians and include Romania's first national park. Retezat National Park is a natural reserve area covering more than 275 sq mi., including 4.500 square acres in a strictly protected scientific reserve area called "Gemenele". The area shelters one of Europe's last remaining, unaffected natural primary forest and the largest single area of pristine mixed forest. Wolves, brown bear, wild boar, Eurasian Lynx, European Wildcat, chamois, Roe Deer and red deer, as well as small carnivore species such as Eurasian Badger and Eurasian otter populate the area. In 1979 the Man and Biosphere Program of UNESCO included the park in the international network of biosphere reserve.

The Retezat Mountains can be found in this Park, with the highest peak being Peleaga Peak at 2509 meters. The name derives from the name of the mountains and retezat means in Romanian "cut off", alluding to their shape. It also includes about 80 glacier lakes.

Here can be found 1190 of the 3450 plant species of Romania, of which 130 have the "endangered" or "vulnerable" status. A part of it is a 'protected area', which contains an intact primeval forest.

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