The Bodoc Mountains: Jajdon Valley

We had a beautiful autumn day on 7 November 2021, in the north-eastern part of the Bodoc Mountains. The weather was pleasantly warm all day, ideal for hiking. 16 of us gathered west of Turia, in the valley of Jajdon, where we travelled about 3 km by car, and then continued on foot. We had a beautiful view of the west of the Burdé Peak and the summit of Kőmöge. We had not planned to scramble up the latter. We climbed Élesorr through a magnificent beech forest. The glade gave us a fabulous view of the Bodoc Mountains, which was actually our destination. The descent followed, after which we crossed the forest road leading to Alungeni. On the side ridge of the Szájpes Forest we headed steadily towards the main ridge of the mountain range, in a marvelous beech forest. We arrived at a glade near to the main ridge, from where we could see the entire Târgu Secuiesc Depression and the surrounding mountains. We reached the main ridge of the Bodoc Mountains via the Szárhegy Meadow. Here, in the beautiful sunny weather we settled down for lunch, baking all the goodies (1120m / 11.15 – 12.30). During our rest we had a perfect view of the Olt Valley, and we also managed to identify the peaks of the southern part of the Harghita Mountains. Soon we were standing on the top of the Burdé Peak, having a beautiful view of the east (1195m / 13.15). The northern part of the Vrancea and the Nemira Mountains were completely visible. Unfortunately, there is a strong forest harvesting, or rather deforestation in the area, as trees have disappeared from the entire side of the mountain. A hard descent to the saddle of Burdé followed, where the ridge tour ended. Just before the Kőmöge we turned down towards the Jajdon Valley, where we were preparing to return. We discovered a thin path, which we followed. Soon we found ourselves in a steep valley, where it was hard to proceed due to the fallen trees and wet stones. No human being had been in this area for a long time. Fortunately, this more difficult section didn’t last long, and we were able to return to a more comfortable forest road, where we could now quickly march towards our final destination. Along the way, we tasted a heavenly mineral water and discovered the entrance to the Iad Valley, where mofettes and mineral waters can be found.

Gáspár László Zsolt