Discover Odăile: Trovanți and Wooden Church

In 2024, a trail to the “Ciupercile de Piatră” Trovanți geosite was opened near Odăile, in Odăile village, within the “Ținutul Buzăului” UNESCO Geopark. The trail is signposted and equipped with viewpoints. Visiting the “Ciupercile de la Odăile” Trovanți site is free of charge.

Nature

In the northeastern part of Odăile commune, a group of Trovanți embedded in Sarmatian sand can be found in a coniferous forest. Most of the Trovanți in this formation have mushroom-like shapes; the formation therefore bears the name “Ciupercile” of Odăile. Its name combines the striking shape with the place where the geological formations can be found in the commune.

The “Ciupercile” belong to the “Ținutul Buzăului” UNESCO Geopark, which was recognized as a UNESCO site in 2022. Thus, two designations stand side by side near Odăile: the specific “Ciupercile de Piatră” Trovanți site and the larger “Ținutul Buzăului” Geopark, to which the “Ciupercile” belong. The 2024 trail and the viewpoints identify the named site as a distinct part of the geopark.

Trails and viewpoints

Another precisely named site is “Ciupercile de la Capul satului”. You can reach it via communal road DC 182. From the second viewpoint, the Trovanți at this site can be reached in a ten-minute walk. The signposted route and the viewpoints form part of the access described around the geological formations near Odăile.

For this second site, both the road and the continuation of the route to the viewpoint are named. The ten-minute walk refers to the section from the second viewpoint to the Trovanți at “Ciupercile de la Capul satului”. This keeps the site, communal road DC 182, the viewpoint, and the stated walking time spatially connected.

The two designations, “Ciupercile de Piatră” and “Ciupercile de la Capul satului”, refer to precisely named places near Odăile. While the first site is connected with the signposted trail and viewpoints opened in 2024, the communal road DC 182 and the ten-minute section from the second viewpoint are specified for the second site.

Culture

In Odăile village, Odăile commune, Buzău County, stands the “Sfântul Gheorghe” wooden church, dating from 1820. It is located at the “La Mănăstire” point in Odăile village. The building is classified as a historic monument and is also the only property in Odăile commune on the list of monuments of regional interest. In the list of monuments, the church is registered under number BZ-II-m-B-02434.

The courtyard of the “Sfântul Gheorghe” church in Odăile also contains a monument to the soldiers who fell in the Reunification War. Thus, the wooden church dating from 1820, the “La Mănăstire” point, and the monument in the church courtyard are connected at this location.

Odăile thus combines geological formations in a coniferous forest with a named church building in the village. The natural features include Sarmatian sand, mushroom-like Trovanți, the UNESCO Geopark, and the signposted or designated trails. The cultural information concerns “Sfântul Gheorghe”, its classification as a historic monument, the monument-list number, and the monument in the courtyard.

For the overarching travel overview: Odaile.