Papusa : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost

Overview

Vârful Păpuşa - Hungarian

Papusa-csúcs

East view of Păpuşa

In terms of height, Păpuşa has the very close second ranking amongst the peaks of Retezat Mountains. According to official data, it is only less than a meter lower (2508 m) than its western neighbor, Peleaga... This peak resembles a triangular pyramid shape (not perfect, though, there is an "extra" ridge running down on the east face). All of its faces have considerable slope, the northwest and southwest ones have a lot of scree on them. Păpuşa is one of the key topologic points of Retezat Mountains: its west and northeast ridge are part of the northern main ridge, while its southeast ridge is part of the connection between the northern and southern main ridges.

Păpuşa is not only about rocks, though: it is surrounded by half a dozen tarns at its feet: Lacul Peleaga under the southwest face, Lacul Adânc under the east face, and the group of small lakes of Valea Rea under the northwest face (more on these - and other - tarns can be found on the Retezat Mountains parent page). Despite the fact that water departs in three different direction from this peak, eventually it gets driven into river Strei /Sztrígy/: from the southwest slope via Lăpuşnicu Mare /Nagy-Lepusnyik/ creek, from the east slopes via Râu Bărbat /Borbátvíz/ creek, and from the NW slope via Nucşoara /Nucsóra/ creek.

From the top, there is a nice view on Peleaga peak and Peleaga Lake, and also to the northern side-ridges and valleys of Retezat Mountains:

Lake Adânc.

West view from Păpuşa.

Northwest view from Păpuşa.

Getting There

Păpuşa peak is located in the northern region of Retezat, so I would suggest approching it from Nucşoara village. Getting to Nucşoara is described in detail on the Retezat Mountains parent page (follow instructions for North Retezat).

Alternatively, you might get a taxi to Poiana Pelegii campsite from Haţeg town, and stay there or hike up to Bucura Lake campsite. Bear in mind that the upper section of the road (from Rotunda hut) is often not passable for vehicles due to flood damage or fallen trees.

Another, less common approach is from Hobiţa /Hobica/ village. From Hobiţa, the lengthy blue triangle leads to Şaua Custurii (saddle, 2205 m, near Păpuşa peak, see Routes section), via Baleia hut (1410 m, recently reported to be reopened, also campsite), Şaua Gorova (saddle, 1816 m, campsite nearby) and Stâna din Râu (1600 m, campsite). Hobiţa can be reached by car from Pui /Puj/ village, which is located on national road 66 (European E79, connecting Haţeg /Hátszeg/ with Petrosani /Petrozsény/).

Routes

Hiking

Hiking routes in Romania are marked by red, yellow and blue colors, and use three shapes: stripe, dot and triangle. From this point, I will use abbreviations for these (for example: YT=yellow triangle, RD=red dot, BS=blue stripe, and so on...)

Păpuşa can be accessed on two marked tourist trails running on its three ridges (described from west to east, but of course they can be walked the other way as well):

YC: coming from Vf. Peleaga (2509 m) towards Şaua Custurii (Custura saddle, 2205 m) and further towards Vf. Custura peak

RS: coming from Şaua Vf. Mare (saddle towards the east, 2345 m), via Porţile Închise (a more exposed ridge section)

Connections to huts and campsites:

From Şaua Pelegii (Peleaga saddle, 2285 m, between Vf. Peleaga and Vf. Păpuşa) there are marked paths leading north towards Cabana Pietrele (RS, then YT) and Genţiana (RS, YT and RC).

From Şaua Vf. Mare there are marked path to Pietrele hut (RT, with possibility to switch to RS and go to Genţiana hut via YT - RC) and the remote Baleia hut (RS/RT parallel, passing through Gorova saddle campsite).

From Şaua Custurii, the BT leads down to Stâna din Râu campsite (~2 km, ~600 m drop), while YC continues until Vf. Custura (where you can take RS to Şaua Plaiul Mic saddle and eventually to Buta hut or Poiana Pelegii campsite on the RC/BS combo).

Connections to neighbour peaks:

Vf. Peleaga - YC

Vf. Custura - YC

Vf. Mare - RS

Circle trips:

Since Peleaga and Păpuşa are neighbors, they can be combined in one dayhike from either Bucura Lake, or the northern huts: Pietrele and Genţiana. If you are coming from the huts, it is possible to make good circle-trips:

small circle
|a total of ~1100/1300 m (Gentiana hut/Pietrele hut) up, and the same down|

Pietrele hut (1480) - BS - Genţiana (1670) - BS - Curmătura Bucurei (2206) - RS - Custura Bucurei (2370) - RS - Vf. Peleaga (2509) - RS - Şaua Pelegii (2285) - YC - Vf. Păpuşa (2508) - YC - Şaua Pelegii (2285) - RS - Valea rea (valley) - YT - Pietrele hut /before getting there, RC departs for Genţiana hut/

large circle
|a total of ~1300/1400 m (Pietrele hut/Gentiana hut) up, and the same down|

Pietrele hut (1480) - BS - Genţiana (1670) - BS - Curmătura Bucurei (2206) - RS - Custura Bucurei (2370) - RS - Vf. Peleaga (2509) - RS - Şaua Pelegii (2285) - YC - Vf. Păpuşa (2508) - RS - Porţile Închise (ridge) - RS - Şaua Vf. Mare (2345) - RT - Galeş Lake (1990) - for Pietrele hut: RT via Galeş valley; for Genţiana hut: RS-YT-RC via Şaua Zănoagelor (2270) and Valea Rea valley

There is another appealing circle-trip, if you are based at Poiana Pelegii, or at Bucura Lake campsites:

"three peaks circle"
|~1400 m up and the same down|

Poiana Pelegii (1600) - RC/BS - Bucura Lake (2041) - YC - Vf. Peleaga (2509) - YC - Şaua Pelegii (2285) - YC - Vf. Păpuşa (2508)- YC - Şaua Custurii (2205) - YC - Vf. Custura (2457) - RS - Şaua Plaiul Mic (1879) - RC/BS - Poiana Pelegii

Păpuşa viewn from Peleaga.

Climbing

There are no reported climbing routes on Păpuşa. Its north face seems to offer some possibilities, though.

North face

Red Tape

<b>Blue monkshood</b> - <i>Aconitum napellus</i>

Preserve nature...

Vf. Păpuşa is inside the territory of Retezat National Park (further information about the park itself can be found on the Retezat Mountains parent page). It is forbidden to leave trails, camp outside of designated sites, put up a fire, or swim in the lakes.

You should bring all your trash back down with you when leaving (just like elsewhere)! Please do a favour for the mountains by fetching garbage that others have left behind (furtunately this does not happen very often, but if you look, you'll find).

Beginnig from May 2010, a small admission fee of 5 RON shall be paid upon entry into the National Park. The ticket is valid for 7 days, independently of the number of entries within this period. The main NP visitor center is located by the road about halfway between Mălăieşti and Nucşoara villages.

Huts and Camping

The nearest huts towards the north are Cabana Genţiana (1670 m) and Cabana Pietrele (1480 m). The latter consists only of scattered bungalows and a designated campsite now, since the old hut burned down in February, 2007. Păpuşa peak is accessible from either of these huts via three saddles: Curmătura Bucurei, Şaua Pelegii and Şaua Vf. Mare saddles (see Routes section above for descriptions). The closest hut towards the south is Cabana Buta (1580 m), from which Păpuşa peak is accessible via Custura peak.

The nearest campsites are Bucura Lake (2041 m, YC leads to Păpuşa peak through Peleaga peak) and Stâna din Râu (1650 m, BT to Şaua Custurii and then YC to Păpuşa peak). Stâna din Râu is quite away from most of the other peaks, though. From Poiana Pelegii campsite (1600 m) you have to take a detour either towards the northwest (Bucura Lake - Peleaga peak) or the southeast (Custura peak). This, however, offers the possibility to make a one-day circle-trip, summiting three of the highest peaks of Retezat (as described in the Routes section above).

More information about these campsites and huts can be found on the Retezat Mountains parent page.

When to Climb

in autumn colors

The most welcoming weather can be anticipated around late summer - early fall, when precipitation is relatively little, but temperatures are still warm. Though it is not impossible to ascend the peak in the winter, you have to be an experienced mountaineer to do it safely, as the chances of avalanches is generally high in the area.

There is no mountain rescue service outside the summer season (see Retezat Mountains parent page), so - unless you are an experienced winter mountaineer - it's safer to go if you have already been there in the summer and know the terrain.

Weather

For general weather information please refer to the Retezat Mountains parent page.

Online weather information for Nucşoara (idea borrowed from Nanuls):

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar | Hurricane Center

Please note that these are data for a village at the feet of the mountains, they're good to get a general feeling of what's around. In the high regions the situation may be quite different.

Maps

Paper maps

See the Retezat Mountains parent page.

Online maps

A powerful online map is being developed by the Open Maps Project. Below you are provided with its embedded version for Păpuşa's area. In order to display the map properly, javascript must be enabled!

Map and viewer courtesy of: Open Maps Project and turistautak.hu

Miscellaneous

Currency

The new Romanian leu (RON) was created in 2005 from the old leu (ROL) by chopping off the last 4 zeros (so that 10,000 old lei - plural of leu - is 1 new leu). While nowadays the banknotes in use are the new ones, sometimes it happens that people tell you prices in old lei, but doing it in units of thousands, which can be quite confusing. An example: "80" can easily mean 80,000 old lei, which is actually 8 new lei... What really helps is to convert the amount to a currency that is familiar to you (exchange rates can be found on xe.com) and compare it with "Western European" prices for the same thing. The Romanian price should generally be less (or about the same but never higher).

Time zone

Romania is in the Eastern European time zone (GMT+2)