Lake Sfânta Ana

Saint Anne's Lake fills the crater of the Ciomatu volcano, the youngest volcanic cone in the Carpathians, and it is the only crater lake in the country. What makes it unusual is the water itself: the lake is fed almost entirely by rain and snow, with no significant inflowing stream, which leaves it exceptionally low in minerals and gives it a clarity and a pale colour that shifts with the sky. It is shallow, only a few metres deep, and shrinks noticeably in dry summers. The rim is forested all the way round and a path circles it for the view down into the bowl. Immediately beside the crater lies Mohoș peat bog, a second crater that filled with sediment and became a raised bog carrying carnivorous sundews and other relict plants, visited on a boardwalk with a guide. A chapel and an annual pilgrimage attach the lake to older traditions.

What you actually see

• The circular lake - clear rain-fed water in a wooded crater.
• The rim path - a walk around the crater edge with views into the bowl.
• Mohoș peat bog - the neighbouring filled crater, a guided boardwalk through relict flora.
• The lakeside chapel - focus of the summer pilgrimage.

When to go

May to October. Summer weekends fill the small parking area early and the lake shore gets busy. Autumn colour around the rim is excellent. Swimming is restricted to protect the water quality, so come to look rather than to bathe.

Honest expectations

The lake is small and shallow and can look tired by late summer when levels drop and the shore widens into mud. Access is charged and the car park fills quickly. The Mohoș bog can only be entered with a guide at set times, which people discover on arrival. Facilities are limited to a few stalls.

Nearby

Băile Tușnad spa is below the crater; the Ciucaș and Harghita ranges lie either side.