Muddy Volcanoes of Berca

The mud volcanoes at Pâclele are not volcanoes in the geological sense: no heat is involved. Natural gas rising from deep reservoirs pushes groundwater up through clay, and the mixture emerges at the surface as cold grey mud that builds small cones, some ankle high and some over a metre, each with a crater that bubbles, burps and occasionally spits. The mud spreads and dries into a cracked grey crust that kills off most vegetation, leaving a bare landscape genuinely unlike anything else in the country and often described as lunar. Salt-tolerant plants ring the edges, including species rare elsewhere in Romania, which is part of why the site is protected. Two areas are open, Pâclele Mari and Pâclele Mici, a few kilometres apart, both reached by unsurfaced roads climbing from the Buzău valley through a landscape of eroded hills.

The landscape

• The cone field - dozens of active mud cones of different sizes.
• Bubbling craters - gas breaking the surface with an audible gurgle.
• The cracked crust - dried grey mud spreading across the bare ground.
• Salt-tolerant flora - unusual plants surviving at the margins.

When to go

Dry weather, ideally late spring or autumn. Rain turns the site into a slick of clay that clings to everything and hides the crust patterns. Early morning and late afternoon light picks out the cone shapes; midday flattens them. Summer heat here is fierce with no shade.

Practical notes

The mud is slippery and sticky, ruins footwear, and the crust conceals soft patches that swallow a foot, so walk carefully and keep off the cones themselves. Both sites are small and an hour covers them. Access roads are unsurfaced and rough. Some visitors find the area underwhelming in scale, since the cones are far smaller than the word volcano suggests.

Nearby

The Living Fire at Lopătari is further up the same valley system; Buzău city is south.