Cuejdel Lake Nature Reserve 
Cuejdel Lake Nature Reserve
At only a few kilometers from the highway between Piatra and Targu Neamt, after you pass the village of Garcina, then Cuejdiu to Cracăul Negru, by step, among the colors of the deciduous forest, you reach Lake Cuejdel of waves that can be seen coming out like spears, hundreds of stumps of dry trees, reminding of Red Lake. Not long ago, the forest that was in these parts, now has been covered by water. As one of the largest natural dam lake, not only in the country but also in Europe, in 2004 was declared Natural Reservation.
Lake Cuejdel was “born” on the river Cuejdel and is the biggest natural dam lake in Romania, located in the Stanisoara Mountains at 25 km from Piatra Neamt, in Garcina village. The lake has its origins in a landfall that started in 1978 and ended in 1991. In the last stage took form the natural dam that blocked the entire valley and lead to the formation of the lake.
Located in the silence of the pine forest, the lake has an area of 2.2 ha and 1 km long. The scenery is savage, under the form of a drown forest.
The same conditions that lead to the formation of Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake) were the cause for Lake Cuejdel also. Today, the local authorities are running a program for the modernization of the entire area so that every tourist will be able to enjoy in a safe way this natural wonder of nature.
The natural reserve set up here downstream from the lake includes not only the water surfaces but also the land mass making up the natural dam as well as the forestry plots near the lake. They complete a protected” very young” area and, moreover, they give an exquisite charm to the whole landscape, thus bringing Lake Cuejdel closer and closer to the attention and interest of all trekking and leisure lovers.
A varied fauna ranging from amphibians, reptiles and birds find the lake habitat very attractive. Simply averting from the lake to the lovely valley around it, you will notice the harmonious co-existence of young (around 25 years), mid-age (40-50 years) and senior forests (120-160 years), all dotted with beech, spruce, fir, hornbeam, mountain maple and elm trees. The forests embracing the lake are sheltering many species of amphibians and reptiles, but also birds like the spotted woodpecker, the spotted nutcracker, the bullfinch, ravens and hawks.
