The Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park ( ro, Parcul Natural Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina) is a protected area ( natural park category V IUCN) situated in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, in

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak ...

Location

The Natural Park is located in the

Șureanu Mountains The Șureanu Mountains, (German: ''Mühlbacher Gebirge'', Hungarian: ''Kudzsiri-havasok''), belong to Romania's Parâng range in the Southern Carpathians, with peaks frequently exceeding . The mountains are located north of Romania's Jiu Valle ...

(

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Pr ...

), in the central-southern part of Hunedoara County, in the administrative territory of the communes

Baru ''Baru'' is an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian. It was semi-aquatic, around 4 m (13 ft) in length. Being semi-aquatic its habitat was around fresh pools of water in wet forests, ambushing their prey, much like mode ...

, Boșorod, Bănița, Orăștioara de Sus, and

Pui Pui ( hu, Puj, german: Hühnendorf) is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of twelve villages: Băiești (''Bajesd''), Federi (''Fégyér''), Fizești (''Füzesd''), Galați (''Galac''), Hobița (''Hobica''), Oha ...

Description

Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park has an area of , and was declared a natural protected area by the ''Law Number 5'' on March 6, 2000 (published in ''Romanian Official Paper Number 152 on April 12, 2000'') and represents a mountainous area which includes forests, mountain peaks, pastures, meadows, valleys, karst areas,

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, and canyons that shelters a variety of flora and fauna. Protected areas included in the park: ''Ponorâci-Cioclovina Karstic Complex'' (1.50 ha), ''Tecuri Cave'' (2 ha), ''Șura Mare Cave'' (5 ha), ''Bolii Cave'' (0.50 ha), ''Crivadia Canyon'' (10 ha), and ''Fossil Reserve Ohaba-Ponor'' (10 ha).

References

Protected areas of Romania Geography of Hunedoara County Protected areas established in 2000 Tourist attractions in Hunedoara County {{Europe-protected-area-stub