Cindrel Mountains
The Cindrel Mountains are in central Romania, in the Southern Carpathians, to the northeast of the Parâng Mountains group. The range rises from the Transylvanian Plateau, where elevations start around 200–400 meters in the north and east, then quickly climb into deep valleys near the massif, where villages are located.
The highest peak is Cindrel Peak at 2,244 meters. Other tall summits are Balandrul Mare at 2,210 meters and Starpului at 2,146 meters.
Mount Cindrel was the site of the World War I Battle of Mount Csindrel, part of the 1916 Battle of Transylvania. The area around the mountain is easy to reach, so the ethnographic region of Mărginimea Sibiului formed there, with sheep herding and wood industry as main activities.
Dams and hydroelectric plants were built on the Cibin and Sadu rivers, the oldest being at Sadu in 1896. The Păltiniș resort lies halfway between the village of Rășinari and Cindrel Peak and features hotels, chalets, and a ski slope. It developed around a small monastery where the Romanian philosopher Constantin Noica spent the last part of his life.
The Cibin River flows from the mountains and collects many smaller rivers. Between the Cindrel Mountains and the Transylvanian Plateau lies the Sibiu Depression, where the city of Sibiu is located and where the ethnographic region of Mărginimea Sibiului is found.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:23 (CET).