Dragons' Garden

Grădina Zmeilor is a small protected area on a hillside above Gâlgău Almașului, where a bed of hard sandstone sits on softer material and erosion has left a scatter of concretions standing free: mushroom caps on stalks, blunt towers, and rounded blocks perched where the ground beneath them has washed away. Local names attach to individual formations, drawn from the folk tales about zmei, the dragon-ogres of Romanian stories, which gave the place its name. The whole site occupies a few hectares and a marked path threads between the shapes and out to the edge of the escarpment, where the view opens over the Almaș valley. It is genuinely off the tourist map, in a quiet corner of Sălaj county with poor roads and few visitors, which is much of its appeal for anyone who happens to be passing.

What you actually see

• Mushroom rocks - sandstone caps standing on eroded stalks.
• Named formations - individual shapes tied to local dragon legends.
• The escarpment view - an outlook over the Almaș valley from the rim.
• The marked path - a short circuit between the formations.

When to go

Spring to autumn. Spring adds flowers to the meadow and autumn gives colour in the surrounding woods. The site is exposed, so a hot midday is unpleasant. Rain makes the clay paths slick.

Honest expectations

The formations are modest in scale, a few metres at most, and the site takes under an hour. Access roads are unsurfaced and can be difficult after rain. There are no facilities of any kind, and signposting from the main road is minimal. Some formations have been damaged by climbing on them.

Nearby

Zalău is north; the Meseș hills and Porolissum Roman site lie between.