The Bistriţa River

The Bistriţa River springs from the Rodnei mountains, located in Maramureș, and crosses Neamţ county for a length of 118 km, with a hydrographic basin area of 3678 km2. The average altitude of the hydrographic basin is about 920 m, and the relief is characterized by massiveness and higher altitudes in the west and in the upper part of the hydrographic basin, then decreasing towards the east and southeast. After 1960, the middle and lower reaches of the Bistrita River were developed for hydropower by building a number of 9 reservoirs and 13 hydropower plants. The largest reservoir is Izvorul Muntelui, with a volume of 1.12 billion cubic meters.

Bistrița is still a river known to the general public, especially due to the history and tradition of rafters. "Any tourist who comes to see the delightful positions of Neamț should not leave this region until he has taken a raft excursion. It's an excursion from Dorna to Piatra." described Victor Nămolaru in the book "Small tourist guide to Piatra-Neamț (year 1969)".

The author described this means of transportation, but also of leisure, as follows: "The raft is a meeting of beams, masts, cabinets placed next to each other and tied by straps. For excursions, you will only go on locker rafts, the others being more dangerous. It is driven by two very rudimentary shovels, called pens. The raftman in front is called the helmsman, and almost all the management depends on him, the other is called the helmsman support and sits at the other end of the raft."

Photo credit: Ciprian Ionuț