Țibleș

From Groșii Țibleșului (Maramureș) turn right about 1 km past the sports hall at the signs and map board, and follow the dirt road up the valley for about 9 km to the Țibleș forestry cabin (Cabana Țibleș) and a further 3–5 km to the water treatment station and the former mine and IPEG tunnel, where most people park; in dry weather the road is passable for ordinary cars, but it has been reported in poor condition. Below the mine the track is flooded by water draining from the old adit. Blue band and blue dot share the path at first: cross the bouldery bed of Izvorul Rău, climb steeply through spruce forest and the meadow of Poiana Lungă, past a spring, to Refugiul Arcer (1,443 m), a small, basic shelter, in about 1½ hours. Here the markings split. The blue band follows an old geological road, then a narrow path through dwarf pine and a long, steep scree slope to the main ridge midway between Arcer and Țibleș. Turn right along the ridge to Vârful Țibleș (1,839 m), with a large iron cross and bell; about 3 hours and 6 km from the car. For a loop, follow the ridge north-west to Vârful Arcer (about 25 minutes) and descend the blue-dot path, steep, rocky and briefly exposed, back to the refuge. Bran, a few metres different in height, is 25 minutes south-east of Țibleș along the ridge. Waymarking is patchy and signposts have fallen in places; carry a GPS track.