The Living Fires of Lopătari, Buzău are among the most mysterious, and unusual, phenomena you may find in nature, on a hiking path, within your reach. That’s if you know where to look. Romania was blessed with a few such miracles, places that could become its landmark tourist attractions, yet few is known about them. Today, we’ll take a look at one of those attractions, that, at the time I left Romania, was neglected by the authorities, and was known only by locals and a few enthusiastic mountaineers. Things have changed in the past ten years, with news of a future Geo-park “Land of Buzău” emerging in the media, but the development may take years to complete.

56 km from the city of Buzău, the county seat of Buzău County in the historical region of Wallachia, you’ll find the commune Lopătari. In one of the villages of this commune, Terca, there are the Living Fires (in Romanian: Focurile Vii) – a natural phenomenon, unique in Europe, but not unique to Romania. You’ll find a similar one, considered even more spectacular by some travelers, at Andreiaşu, a commune in Vrancea County, in the historical region of Moldovia, north of Buzău; and one in Reghiu commune, Vrancea, in the village of Răiuţi – only 8.5 km north of Andreiaşu.

Although the Living Fires of Andreiaşu (image above) occupy the most extensive area (400 m²), the Living Fires of Buzău are more popular with tourists, as they are situated close to other interesting natural attractions in the county, including: the Muddy volcanoes, the amber from Colti, the Salt from Meledic, the petroleum springs, salty springs, and so on.

This is a closeup of the freely burning natural gas at Terca, Lopătari. On the fire, you can even cook a meal. Image courtesy, Wikipedia Romania.

The natural emanations of gas are lit at the surface, under the rays of the sun. The fires burn at night as well, when the scenery is at its most spectacular display. At times you can see a flame rising up to 1 m into the wind above the ground.

For travelers, the fires are a natural curiosity. For the locals however, they are a source of legends, mystical beliefs, and superstition. Many local traditions have been inspired by these “eternal flames,” some no longer practiced, others still leaving their mark on local pottery, costumes and so on.

If their story has triggered your interest, then take a trip to Terca. In the summer, make sure you have enough water with you, the weather in Romania tends to get very hot, and the area around the Living Fires was not developed for tourist purposes. To understand, this is one of the signs marking the way to the Fires:

A handmade sign marking the way to the Living Fires of Terca (probably by a villager, or mountaineer).

To reach the place, drive through the city of Buzău, on the route Mărăcineni–Sapoca-Manzalesti-Lopătari-Terca (the GPS coordinates are N 45.53578 E 26.54857). If you drive through Berca, it’s better to use a four-wheel-drive vehicle. In fact, it’s good to have a good car to drive from Lopătari to Terca anyway. Prepare for a hike as well: the car cannot take you to the Fires. You have to cross a handmade wooden bridge, that looks ancient and wobbly. Then the road takes you on uneven terrain up the hill, on a hike that, although not difficult, it could be pure torture after the rain (mud and all). Below, the terrain map of the area.

Note that accommodation in Terca or Lopătari is hard to find. Your best bet is to lodge in Buzău and take the trip to the Living Fires early in the morning. Alternatively, you could try to find a room in the village, but don’t expect comfort and luxury. For many foreigners, the life standard in the villages here is below the poverty line. If you like fancy sheets, warm water 24h, and a comfortable commode, this place is not for you. If you want to experience the simple joys of life, warm people, authentic cuisine, and life as it used to be years and years ago, it doesn’t get better than this. There are a few more “modern” villas in Lopătari as well, renting rooms – but don’t count on them. The Terca village, your destination, looks pretty much like this:

A random house in Terca, courtesy Wikipedia Romania.

The muddy clods of earth, colder than ice, gurgle and boil underground; then, through numerous opened mouths, scattered all over the valley, they bubble upwards, bursting out either at a very low or at a higher distance… Alexandru Odobescu

Not far from Buzau (online map: cca 30 km), in Berca-Arbanasi, this vision from another world becomes reality. The Muddy Volcanoes wait for your visit in the heart of a mud-spattered landscape, filling up the air with emanations that smell like oil and salt. The road to their kingdom winds among dry hills – not much grows here as the land is rich in salt and the conditions are proper only for some rare plants (which grow solely in this region) like Nitraria schoberi and Obione verrucifera.

The volcanoes are not extremely high (the highest are probably 5-6 meters) and they are not toxic.

In other European countries Italy (northern Apennines and Sicily), Ukraine (in the Kerch Peninsula), as well as Azerbaijan (the largest number of muddy volcanoes) mud volcanoes can erupt higher, but in Berca-Arbanasi it’s safe to go in their vicinity and it’s even safe to play with the mud.

Photo courtesy Loredana L.

There are two formations of volcanoes, not far from each other: Paclele Mari and Paclele Mici. You’ll first arrive (driving) at Paclele Mici and if you want to see more, you need to hike to Paclale Mari.

The Berca Muddy Volcanoes are rarely visited by local villagers – as they believe the place is cursed by evil and malefic spirits. The Muddy Volcanoes are also called “the gates of hell”. Sure the fear of unexplained leaves room for many odd beliefs. Tourists are also rare, but not because the place is “haunted.” The relatively low number of tourists has more to do with the roads’ accessibility – you’ll need a Jeep or something similar to drive there. Other cars will probably give you a hard time.

Photo courtesy Deea.

“Mud volcanoes,” also known as “sedimentary volcanoes” or “gas – oil volcanoes,” are close cousins to magmatic volcanoes. Just like magmatic volcanoes, they can erupt powerfully and hurl flames to great heights (sometimes even several hundred of meters). They spew out millions of cubic meters of hydrocarbon gases and tons of mud. Mud volcanoes also exist on the floor of the sea and can form islands and banks that alter the topography and shape of the coastline and even trigger earthquakes.

Another feature of mud volcanoes is their direct relationship to oil and gas fields. Mud volcanoes resemble super-deep exploration wells in the sense that they are direct indicators of hydrocarbons at great depths and provide valuable information on the formation and migration of oil and gas. – Source.