Unique Attraction in Romania: the “Colorful Forest” in Baia de Fier, Near Targu Jiu

I always like to discover unique, lesser known attractions in the country and the Colorful Forest in Baia de Fier, Romania that I am talking about today certainly fits the bill perfectly.

It’s definitely a unique attraction – and I personally haven’t heard of others alike anywhere else in the world. Probably not as impressive as the Fairy Tale Clay Castle in Porumbacu, but still amazing.

Here’s a quick glimpse of this forest below:

So read on to find out everything about this unique forest in Romania – one that’s definitely off the beaten path, but totally worth it!

What is this “Colorful Forest” in Romania?

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.

A unique and extremely interesting project created by artist Mihai Topescu, the Color Forest is exactly what its name suggests: a brightly colored forest, created by the aforementioned artist

We’re talking about 600 trees that have been painted by the artist in vibrant, ecological colors as a protest against the heavy deforestation in the 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 an 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.

One thing is clear: since it has been created in July 2017, this unique Romanian attraction started to become more and more popular – unexpectedly so, I would say. But that’s a good thing.

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!

I hope that you enjoyed this find and, even more, that you’re going to consider putting it on your “to see” list.

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!

Calin
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6 thoughts on “Unique Attraction in Romania: the “Colorful Forest” in Baia de Fier, Near Targu Jiu”

  1. 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

    Reply
  2. 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 :-).

    Reply
    • 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 🙂

      Reply
  3. 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.

    Reply
    • 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 🙂

      Reply

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