Apuseni (Western Transylvanian Mountains)

Between the vast plains of Pannonia to the west and the basin of Transylvania (Land beyond the Forest, coined in the Middle Ages) sits a remarkable bulk of medium-height mountains nearing 1850m a.s.l. in elevation. In shape, this mountain group resembles the palm of a hand approximately a hundred kilometers across, spreading its five fingers ("Western Hills") westerly and northerly. Romanian people call it Munţii Apuseni, which means the Western Mountains or the Mountains of the Setting Sun. Hungarian people used to call them the Island Mountains of East Hungary, but today refer to them as Erdélyi-szigethegység, i.e. the Island Mountains of Transylvania. Among the other - surely confusing - names for these mountains are: the Western Carpathians (for Slovaks, Poles and Czechs this stands for what we - on SP - call the Northwestern Carpathians) and the Bihor Mountains (this is the name of the highest subgroup). On the south, the Western Transylvanian Mountains are bounded by the the valley of the Mureş/Maros River (and the Southern Carpathians beyond it). To the north, the Western Transylvanian Mountains extend as far as the Someş/Szamos River. The location of the mountains against the Carpathian arc as well as the map showing their breakdown into particular mountain groups can be studied here. 

The Bihor/Bihar in autumn, the highest summit at 1849m (mast) on the right. Shot by LukZem from across the River Arieş/Aranyos (from ENE).

The highest mountains rise in the central part of Munţii Apuseni/Erdélyi-szigethegység. This heart of the Western Transylvanian Mountains can be divided into three major mountain groups, whose highest summits exceed 1800m in elevation: the Vlădeasa/Vlegyásza in the north, the Bihor/Bihar in the south and the Gilău/Gyalu in the east. These mountains - composed of crystalline rocks - feature long, gentle slopes and rounded tops. The scenery is a blend of coniferous forests and mountain pastures and is rather monotonous, despite being charming. A rather small - compared to other Carpathian ranges - number of big predators, such as the bear, wolf and lynx live there. Between the three major crystalline massifs stretches a limestone plateau named Padis (Padiş/Pádis), packed with the classic forms of karst relief and usually classified as part of the Bihor Mountains. The karst landscapes extend northward into the Vladeasa Mountains and easterly along the Arieş/Aranyos River as far as the Turda Gorge (Cheile Turzii/Tordai-hasadék) on the outskirts of the Transylvanian Basin. But the karst west of the historic town of Turda/Torda - despite being located north of the Aries River - is traditionally believed to be part of the Trascău/Torockó Mountains.

Mountain Group	Elevation in Meters	Highest Peak	Description
Vlădeasa Vlegyásza/Vigyázó/Kalota-havas Vladeasa Mountains	1836	Vlădeasa Vlegyásza/Vigyázó	Between the plateau of Padis in the south and the Crişul Repede/Sebes-Körös (Rapid Criş/Körös) River in the north. On the east, the mountains are bounded by the Huedin/Bánffyhunyad Basin, while their west boundary is formed by the Iad/Jád River, beyond which the mountains known as the Royal Forest sit. Delineated in such a way the Vladeasa Mountains resemble a horseshoe along whose axis the Drăgan/Dregán River runs northerly to empty into the Rapid Criş/Körös. (The gorge of the latter carries a highway and railway line Budapest-Cluj/Kolozsvár.) On the other hand, the Vladeasa Mountains can also be classified as the north half of a larger mountain region, namely the Bihor-Vladeasa. The western part of the Vladeasa, west of the Dragan River, is much lower, does not exceed 1500m in elevation and is not often visited by hikers. The second highest peak in the Vladeasa, Buteasa/Bocsásza, reaches 1792m, boasts interesting scenery (blockfields, dwarf pine, no man-made structures, vast spruce woodland around) and faces the highest massif of all in the Western Transylvanian Mountains - the Bihor proper - across the Padis Plateau to the south. The Vladeasa Mountains do not differ much from the other two mountain groups that make up the massive bulk of the Western Transylvanian Mountains' central part, hovever, the basic geologic component of the Vladeasa is volcanic rocks, mainly rhyolites and dacites, whereas the other massifs are formed of much older, granitoid or metamorphic rocks.
Bihor Bihar-hegység Bihor Mountains	1849	Cucurbăta Mare/Bihorul Mare Nagy-Bihar Great Bihor	The main attractions of the Bihor are located in the northern chunk of the mountains, around the sources of the Aries River. South of the Vladeasa lies the limestone plateau of Padis, often called the kingdom of the Carpathian karst, which is regarded as part of the Bihor Mountains. East of Padis, north of the village of Arieşeni/Lepus sits another, smaller karst plateau which boasts Scărişoara/Aranyosfői Cave, holding loads of ice. Several kilometers in the opposite direction from Arieseni, south of the Aries River stands the highest mountain of all in the Western Transylvanian Mountains, Cucurbăta Mare/Nagy-Bihar (Big Bihor) with a tall transmitter mast on the summit.
Munţii Gilău Gyalui-havasok Gilau Mountains	1826	Muntele Mare Öreghavas	Between the Aries River in the south, the Vladeasa massif in the west and the city of Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár to the north-east. Except for the patches of spectatucalar karst relief along the Aries River - such as Belioara/Bélavára (as a matter of fact, also the area around the Turda Gorge - see next chapter - lies within the lower (eastern) slopes of the Gilau although it is usually classified as part of the Trascău/Torockó Mountains) - these mountains look like a plateau with rolling hills on top: gentle, long slopes, endless mosaic of pastures and vast spruce forests, surprisingly steep valleys. In geologic terms, the axis of the mountains, which runs from north to south where the highest massif sits, is a granite batholith. As elsewhere, the granite core is surrounded by metamorphic rocks such as schists. Both the geology and the relief are monotonous since the elevation was not enough for the Pleistocene glaciers to develop. Pastoralism, transhumance, traditional wooden architecture and lifestyles are still alive here - these mountains are a huge theater showing what most of the Carpathians looked like until the last decades of the past century.