Dracului Lake

This is the only mountain swamp in the Northern Harghita Mountains. It is located on the exterior slope of a volcanic crater, between the Ostoroș peak (1386 m), Fagul Roșu peak (1336 m), and the Observatorul peak (1372 m), at 1180 meters altitude.

The swamp covers 20 ha land, and it is densely populated by ice age relict plant species. It is accessible on a tourist trail that starts from the church in Cârța. Among the protected plant species we mention the Liguaria sibirica, the bay willow (Salix pentandra), and the hare’s tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum). In 2000 a group of scientists discovered here a new spider species, the Meioneta similis, which is an ice age relict spider, observed in Iceland, Finland and Northern Russia so far.

Text and photo source: http://www.greenharghita.ro