Photographs by Paula NEAMTU / AGERPRES PHOTO

The Bigar Waterfall is in Caras-Severin County, in Minisului Valley, half the distance between the towns of Anina and Bozovici on National Road 57B.

The Bigar Natural Reserve includes an intermittent natural spring, a cave, a stream and a waterfall, all located towards the Almajului Country, on the right side of Minisului Gorges, where the road meets, imaginarily, the 45th northern latitude parallel of the globe.

In Banat, the locals use the name of ‘izbuc’ for a spring from which the water comes to light from under the rock. The water of the Bigar spring comes out from under a rock which is over 50 meters high. Part of the water of this spring, of a rare purity, is routed to Minis trout farm. Also here, but above, close to the peak of the cliff, is the hole of the cave with water. Also, the water in the Bigar creek falls, from stage to stage, forming a line of small waterfalls so that the water is clear and foamy intermittently.

At a distance of about 200 meters from the intermittent spring, the water flows into Minis River from a volcanic tuff cone of seven meters tall. This formed the Bigar Waterfall, a natural phenomenon of a special beauty. The rock cone is covered in green moss and the water that falls on it seems to be the dress of the mountain’s bride.

To do tourists’ stopover here even more enjoyable at the waterfall, the gazebo built here was rebuilt, and benches and tables were placed. Also, the railing between the alleys will be extended with a staircase that will descend to the Minis River, for the tourists to take photos of the waterfall in good conditions, which cools them in summertime and in wintertime it offers them an unforgettable image, because the icicle curtains.

‘The famous waterfall belongs to the Caras-Severin Forestry Directorate, but, at the same time, also to the National Park Nerei Gorges — Beusnita, which has already begun to manage the this area, because increasingly many tourists come here and we want the area to look well, to be clean. Here there was an old gazebo which has been rearranged, its roof has been replaced, protective fencing has been put to avoid possible injuries and a few tables and rustic benches have been placed,’ said Stefan Stanescu, the Caras-Severin Forestry Directorate’s head.

At the same time, at the intermittent spring, where there is a cave, stairs have been built for it to be visited under optimal conditions, especially since, in the last period, the number of tourists has been growing. In summertime, as many as 200 cars carrying tourists come here daily.

‘Fortunately, we have a county rich in natural beauties. I could not do a rankings of waterfalls, as to me they are all equally beautiful,’ said Caras-Severin County’s Prefect Silviu Hurduzeu.

The World Geography website posted in 2013 a list of the most impressive waterfalls in the world. The first place is held by the Bigar Waterfall in Caras-Severin County.

Until now there has not been a legend of this waterfall, but teacher Floarea-Ana Tunea has created one, trying in this way to attract as many tourists as possible to this area.

According to this legend, on the wonderful lands of the Almajului Valley, there was a family of peasants very appreciated by locals. The man was hard-working and honest and his wife, of a rare beauty. Their only bitterness was the lack of a son to carry on their names and help them in their old age. One night, the woman saw a witch in her dream, who told her that only if she drank water from the spring beneath the rock placed at the border between the worlds would she get pregnant. Also in her dream the woman was told that if she ever had a girl, she would not be allowed to fall in love if she wanted to live. The woman went to the spring and drank water, and after a while she gave birth to an incredibly beautiful daughter, wanted by many lads. The young maiden fell in love with a handsome and hard-working boy named Bigar. The girl’s father, who knew the story, tried to make his daughter forget about the lad, and because the girl would not renounce her love, he locked her in the cave above the spring of the world. The maiden’s cries of despair were heard by a witch who lived on the other side, known as the Love Finding Realm, teacher Floarea-Ana Tunea’s legend goes.

Persuaded by the huge suffering of the girl, the witch told her that the only thing that she could for her was to turn her hair into a waterfall on which her tears would slip.

‘The roar of the waterfall will bring the one that you love close to you, but I warn you, you will never be allowed to live in this world. He will have to die drowned in your tears and you will die along with him, in order for you to revive then in the other world, in the Love Finding Realm. It is only there that what was destined for you upon your birth will not be fulfilled,’ the legend goes.

According to the legend, the lad came and threw himself into the waterfall, charmed by its soothing sound and thus they were reunited on the other realm, the only place where they could live their love. Later, the waterfall has remained the testament to a love that surpassed the limits of a human being, but also to the fact that love means happiness and sacrifice at the same time.

Since then, the couples in love come to drink water from the waterfall named after the lad Bigar, to seal their love and also to have an eternal and absolute love, according to legend created to spark even further the interest in the impressive waterfall.AGERPRES