Tinovul Mare Poiana Stampei Peat Bog

You walk on planks because the ground below would not hold you. Under the wooden path lie metres of peat, gathered strand by strand of moss, in a place where what dies does not rot — it accumulates.

Tinovul Mare Poiana Stampei covers 681.80 hectares and is the largest protected peat bog in Romania. Since 25 October 2011 it has been a wetland of international importance on the Ramsar list, and its protection began long before that: the first measures date from 1955.

What you see when you enter

The boardwalk starts at the national road and runs straight into the forest, with a railing where the ground gives way. Every so often, illustrated panels tell you what grows beside you — not like a classroom, but like someone who stops and points.

The pines here are small and crooked although they are decades old: they grow on acid, poor peat where roots find little to draw on. Beside them sit Sphagnum mosses, which make the water pool, along with dwarf birch, bilberry, cowberry and marsh orchid. The bog is also home to the Carpathian newt, the common frog and the capercaillie, heard more often than seen.

Getting there

From Vatra Dornei it is 19 kilometres on DN17, through Dorna Candrenilor and Podu Coșnei. The entrance is signposted at the roadside, with a wooden gate and an information panel. The trail takes a good hour there and back, at walking pace.

Before you go

Stay on the boardwalk: off the path the moss carpet tears and takes decades to heal. Pick nothing — every species here is protected. Wear footwear for damp ground, even in August, and bring water, because there is none along the way.

Early morning or late afternoon is best, when the light comes in low between the trunks. That is when the bog shows you why it was left alone.