Baile Herculane, the Romanian spa by excellence

If you are in that corner of Romania close with the today Serbia, just having visited Iron Gates (Portile de Fier) with their breathtaking landscapes, would be such a pity to miss a visit in Baile Herculane ( The Hercules Baths, German Hercules bad, Hungarian Herkulesfurdo).

According to the legend, Hercules himself took a bath and a rest in Baile Herculane. This statue is 150 years old  and is a mark of the resort

In the caves from the vicinity have been found traces of living people which dates back to Mesolithic and Neolithic. The legendary Hercules came here, took a bath and had an excellent rest. During the Roman occupation of 170 years important people and elites came here, setting a sort of aristocratic spa.

Hotel Cerna from Baile Herculane has a history behind, and is very proud of it.

At 1700-1900 the spa was one of the best known in central Europe, with excellent hotels and restaurants and exquisite clients. Visiting that part of the resort with the deserted hotels makes feel a little sad, if you thing to the growth and decay of everything. But there are also good news, for those who can receive them: the reopening of the rebuild Hotel Ferdinand since a few years gave to the resort a new impulse.

One of the old pools of Herculane, filled with warm thermal water, the main attraction point for youngsters, mainly when after sunset

During the communist times, the rulers tried to democratize the resort and brought mass tourism, building big hotels. This part of the resort is much more animated, and enjoys two very different categories of clients: very young and very old! The old ones try to rejuvenate through Aslan treatments, while the young ones love the thermal pools where  they stay very long,until midnight, without being sick!

It is a good idea coming To Baile Herculane by train, as the railway station  is very old, nice and spectacular. If you don't come by train, it is nevertheless a must seeing it, not only for Architecture or History freaks. Further, in Baile Herculane, you can make wonderful Danube cruises, climbing mountains in the neighborhood . Beware here the venomous snakes, but don't miss the Cerna Valley, which a gorge with abrupt walls of strong rocks. The hot air coming from the south west stays long in the valley, resulting in one of the hottest area in Romania! Add also the many rains, resulting in an a fast tropical vegetations, vey unusual for Romania.

The railway from Baile Herculane is the most beautiful in the all Romania. Very old, nice, and spectacular, is a must see for any visitor.

From Baile Herculane you can go to Drobata-Turnu Severin, Timisoara, Orsova. But first of all stay here at least a few days, you will feel much better!

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Portile de Fier, a savage part of Romania

The Danube River flows through all Europe 2800 km, crossing 3 capitals and 6 countries and ends its adventurous travel through a wonderful Delta. When the Danube crosses the Carpathians and constitutes the border between Romania and actually Serbia has the ugliest, most dangerous face.

His majesty The Danube in Cazane

Before 1972 when the big dam of Portile de Fier was raised the navigation was barely possible, but even today it is not easy, despite the building of the second dam (Portile de Fier II). In the area, 100 km long, the Danube crosses a few gorges offering a savage landscape.  You can make rafting on the lakes, on the Danube, or you can climb the mountains feeling a Robinson Crusoe.

The impressive monument of the dacia ruler, King Decebal, who fought against the Romans and is nowadays a national symbol of courage and patriotism

Portile de Fier means Iron Gates, translated from Romanian. Amazingly, all the other people in the area, and all the navigators, have the same designation for this region. With a ship, you pass first through the Gorge of Golubac (14 km long), and you can see from the former Serbian city of Golubac only nine towers emerging from the water. Further, the Gospodin Gorge, 15 km long and 220 meters wide, followed by a gorge called Cazanele Dunarii, which is 19 km long and 150 meters wide. The surrounding rocks are very abrupt, 700 meters high, and there is no possibility to come on any shore. You will notice here Tabula Traiana, an antic Roman monument, build to remember the Roman highway to Dacia . On the Romanian shore, on behalf of Iosif constantin Dragan, wealthy businessman, has been carved a huge statue of the Dacian king Decebal, who dared to fight against the Romans, and is today a model of patriotism (no Romanian city without a Decebal street). 12  sculptors have been busy 12 years working at that monumental statue, and they even wrote "Facet Dragan" . After, the former city of Orsova,overflowed and removed on a new location.

The picturesque Island of ada kaleh, overflowed after the building of the dam

In this region was also the Island Ada-Kaleh, for centuries a pirates nest and a Turkish enclave. Some of its buildings have been removed to Island of Simian, but the people refused to reset, and fled in Dobrogea (another region of Romania with an important Turkish minority) or Turkey. This the most evocative, if not hurting, lost due to the Dam of Portile de Fier, and there are plans and intentions to build Ada Kaleh again from scratch.

Not far, there is Drobeta Turnu Severin, an industrial town, hosting The Museum of Iron Gates and the amazing water tower (1904). In Drobeta are still visible two foot of the former Roman bridge on the Danube, which facilitated the displacement of Roman divisions.

Portile de Fier is really a paradise for nature and mountain freak, for rafters and adventurers, historians and environmentalists.

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