Things to see
Berca Mud Volcanoes
A geological and botanical preserve located near the Berca village, the mud volcanoes are a rare and beautiful sight to see. The small mud volcanoes, only a few meters high, create a strange landscape due to lack of vegetation around the cones. Vegetation is scarce because the soil is very salty and only a few plants can survive. Several of the volcanoes can be active anytime, when the gray mud at the surface is disturbed by the rising gas bubbles. A thick liquid is pushed to the surface by the gas pressure creating some miniature lava flows. The phenomenon can be observed on two separate locations near the Berca commune, the Small Mud Volcanoes (Paclele Mici) and The Big Mud Volcanoes (Paclele Mari).
Visiting the place doesn’t present a danger but we would advise not wearing sandals.
Ciolanu Monastery
A monastery of Eastern Orthodox monks located in the Magura village, is an old and beautiful place, located in a peaceful meadow surrounded by forest. The monastery was established in 1520 when the first church was erected by the boyar (a rich land owner in feudal Romania) Dumitru Ciolanu of Buzau City. Currently there are two churches, an old one up on the hill, „St George” Church, built in 1590 and a new one, „Saints Apostles Peter and Paul”, near the entrance, built in late 19th century (1828). Inside the monastery there is a little museum which contains rare books, icons, and paintings by Gheorghe Tattarescu, as well as utensils used by the monks for arming and pottery-making.
In the surrounding forests and clearings is a scattered open-air exhibition of some 200 sculptures by young artists.
Meledic Lake
This is the ideal place for the people who want to spend their time in a peaceful environment.
Near Meledic there are 34 salt caves; the 6th cave is considered the 2nd largest salt cave in the world (1337 m) but unfortunately in order to visit one needs special equipment and experience in cave exploration.
Living Fires
Another interesting natural phenomenon occurring near the Lopatari village, the „Living Fire” consists of nearly a half meter flame coming out of earth.
This phenomenon is produced by the continuous emission of gases from beyond the surface.
Colți Amber Museum
Colti is a village in Buzau County, 13 kilometers away from Patarlagele town. The commune is special not only for its old houses, churches, monasteries, or its secular trees but for amber, the valuable euosmite (a fossil resin).
Amber Museum was built by the inhabitants of Colti in the ’70s and opened in June 1980. The building is like a peasant’ house, with three floors: the underground floor, the ground floor and the first floor. The ground floor consists of three rooms where is located the amber collection, crystal clusters, rocks, fossils, and tourmalines (gemstone). The yellow amber is a semiprecious stone resulted from the organic fossilization of some pine resins, tens of million years ago.
The precious collection is unique in Romania and among the fewest in the world. Between 1937 and 1948 eight amber mines were functioning in Colti, but they were closed one by one. Locals continued to seek these gemstones, very demanded in jewelry industry.
The Museum of Colti hosts a piece of amber weighing 1,785 grams, and another one of 1,500 grams, amber objects in different shades of colors, from yellow to opaque black, transparent or multiple color shades in one piece.
The museum’s collection, the second in Europe, hosts the oldest amber, dating back 60 million years. The amber from Colti is considered the world’s most famous amber color diversity, with 160 shades that researchers have discovered so far.
Amber is a common accessory for the people of Colti, who wear amber pieces as good luck charms. The amber of Colti is a protected area of national interest from 2000.
The Museum was fully restored in 2020 and now features an online tour and various online experiences for its guests.
The rupestrian settlements of Alunis
The rupestrian settlements located in the area of Alunis, Buzau County, are generally considered to have begun as ancient sites of refuge and cult in the Buzau Mountains. They are situated 6 km north-east of Alunis village and spread over an area of about 3 sq. km.
Settlements from Alunis cave in Buzau Mountains (fifth millennium BC – sec. XVIII) found the highest concentration of convents and homes in the Romanian monastic. Nearby Alunis – Nucu – Pile – rust, located in the villages Colti, Bozioru, Braesti and in localities Cozieni, Catina and Pietroasele were discovered numerous settlements cave inhabited since prehistory, others used as cells of hermits or arranged as places Christian cult.
