I always like to discover unique, lesser-known attractions in Romania and the Colorful Forest in Baia de Fier fits the bill perfectly.
It is a striking visual protest located right on the side of a busy national road, and I personally haven’t heard of anything like it anywhere else. Sure, it’s probably not as impressive as the Fairy Tale Clay Castle in Porumbacu, but it’s still amazing.
Here’s a quick glimpse of this forest below:
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about visiting this painted wonder, including how to avoid the local parking hazards and what else you can see nearby.
What is this Colorful Forest?
The Colorful Forest (or “Padurea colorata” as it is called in Romanian) is a unique attraction located near the Baia de Fier village. It is around 48 kilometers away from Targu Jiu, or 65 kms away from Ramnicu Valcea.
It is an extremely interesting project created by glass artist Mihai Țopescu in July 2017.
The forest is exactly what the name suggests. We are talking about 600 trees that have been painted by the artist in bright, ecological colors. He did this as a direct protest against the heavy deforestation happening in the Gorj County area.
Most likely, when the project started, they didn’t know how popular it will become: today, people are flocking to take pictures and see the wonder themselves. And it certainly reached its goal, as the forest itself was no longer being cut down!
It is indeed a unique art form and definitely something worth checking out if you ever get into the area. A much better form of protest, in my opinion, than trying to destroy works of art by throwing oil or other goop on them…
Here are some photos of the beautiful Color Forest in Baia de Fier. It looks even more spectacular during the summer or the fall… but it looks good enough during the winter for you to see how interesting the entire project is:
Officially called “the Garden of Paradise,” the Colorful Forest (as it’s actually referred to) is not only a protest against deforestation.
The artist hopes that the place will become a place for meditation, for self discovery, a place that will help others enjoy and appreciate art in any form.
We know for sure that a forest – albeit small – has been saved from being cut down. Maybe others will follow suit and turn Romania into a Colorful Forest country. That would be pretty amazing!
You can check out even more photos on the Facebook page of the forest – where you also have a map. I have also marked the forest here on Google Maps – you can click the link and set it as your next destination!
Today’s reality
Because the location became highly popular on social media, things have changed a bit since the early days.
The original paint from 2017 eventually faded. In August 2023, Mihai Țopescu launched a public call for volunteers to help repaint the 600 trees using a special lime-based ecological paint – and this was a success.
But high popularity also brought a few downsides. Heavy tourist traffic led to some vandalism. I was sad to see that some visitors carved their names into the painted bark and broke branches.
The ground was also trampled so hard by crowds taking photos that new saplings could not grow. Local artists actually had to step in and plant new trees back in 2021 to help the ecosystem recover.
There is also a significant lack of trash cans right at the edge of the trees so please leave no trace behind – carry any trash back to your car and dispose of it when you find a proper trash can.
My Parking Hazard Warning
Because this attraction is right on the national road, the location does not have a massive dedicated parking lot. While popular, it’s a small attraction that probably requires 30 minutes at most to fully explore and take photos in.
Also, drivers can sometimes get distracted by the sudden burst of color and hit the brakes – especially those that never passed by the forest before. So make sure that you slow down in advance and keep your eyes on the road, and not on the trees!
Pull over safely onto the shoulder of the road and watch your step when exiting your vehicle, as cars will still be driving past you at high speeds.
Wrapping up
I hope that you enjoyed this find and, even more, that you’re going to consider putting it on your “to see” list.
We know for sure that a forest has been saved from being cut down and maybe others will follow suit and turn Romania into a country that protects its natural beauty through art. That would be pretty amazing!
If you know of other less popular, but still pretty amazing, attractions in Romania, don’t hesitate to share them down below in the comments section. I would love to check them out myself too!
I am a journalist and local expert who has been documenting life in Romania since 2013. Based in Constanta (after living in Bucharest and Drobeta Turnu Severin), I provide up-to-date, on-the-ground advice for expats and travelers. My articles are based on real life experiences and plenty of research – from paying Romanian bills to exploring the wild “Rawmania” countryside.
Calin: Very pretty colors! Deforestation is bad. We lost a lot of forest in the Pacific Northwest (USA)
due to excessive logging. (Lumber mills are a big industry where I live.)
Then, there’s the Amazonian rainforest (aka the lungs of Earth) which is still being decimated.
BTW–I hope the colors, though Technicolor-like, don’t damage the trees. I’d think the artist would
have done his due diligence to make sure no tree were harmed in the making of this exhibit;-)
~Teil
Hello Teil,
They do look good, don’t they? The artist used ecological paint, one that won’t harm the trees in any way. They fortunately thought about this before starting 🙂
How colorful! I wonder what the original motivation was. I know he means it as a place for meditation, but truthfully l don’t think l could be relaxed enough to meditate there 🙂 . I would like to see it during the day. I think the night might be a little too scary for me as l am a big chicken :-).
Meditation is not really a big thing in Romania anyway, so I really doubt that this goal was met. Sometimes artists think differently and they might be motivated by things we, the regular folk, don’t understand. But even if the artist’s goal was met or not, I’m still happy for the eye candy 🙂
What? I never commented on this article? I’ll have to fix that. When I first looked at the picture, I had a negative reaction, thinking the trees were being damaged. But if the forest can be saved this way, more power to the artist. It reminds me of the same reaction I had to Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their massive art installations in natural landscapes and cityscapes. Who can forget the time they wrapped the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany? Oh well, this tree coloring project has drawn attention to the illegal logging going on in Romania. That is important. It has become a tourist attraction too.
I had to Google Christo and Jeanne-Claude, but it was worth it. Really nice stuff indeed.
And yes, this was a successful project. I have a feeling that nobody – maybe not even the artist – thought that it could become this big 🙂