Road trip next to the Danube river in Clisura Dunării

Road in the Iron Gates next to the Danube
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Published on January 1, 2021 by Zoltan Nyaradi

The Clisura Dunării or the Danube gorge in English, is located in the southwestern part of Romania, in the Banat region.

The starting point of this road trip along the Danube river is the port city of Orșova. Our final point will be at Moldova Nouă, where won’t follow the Danube anymore, instead we drive towards the city of Oravița. However the road continues next to the Danube until Baziaș which is the last Romanian settlement before the border with Serbia. Along this trip, basically the river is the border between Romania and Serbia. It’s pretty common to see many cars belonging to the Romanian Border Police.

The port city of Orșova and the Dragalina park

As I mentioned above, the starting point was at the port city of Orșova. Here we spent almost 30 minutes visiting the Dragalina park. From the park, you can see almost the entire city including the port and the train station. Also here is a nice spot for taking some panoramic photos of the city and the Danube. We stayed there almost an hour and I had plenty of time to walk around in the park and photograph many amazing things.

The port city of Orșova with the Danube in the foreground.
The Dragalina park in Orșova with a cruise ship which takes the tourists to the Iron Gates.
The Danube river before the city of Orșova.

Mraconia monastery and the sculpture of Decebalus Rex

Not far from Orșova, two important objectives can be found. The first important objective would be the sculpture of Decebalus Rex which was a former Dacian king back during the Roman Empire. Also this sculpture is the tallest one in Europe, measuring a height of 55 m. Not far from the rock relief, you will find the beautiful Mraconia monastery which was actually built right next to the Danube river. From this point you will find the Kazan gorge where the Danube has the most narrowest point.

The rock sculpture of Decebalus Rex in the Iron Gates.
The Mraconia monastery and the Danube river.

Large gulf in Dubova

In the Kazan gorge there is a large gulf right next to the commune of Dubova. This gulf is right between the Small and the Great Kazan. In the background of the photo shared below, between those steep mountains, is the Great Kazan gorge.

Gulf in Dubova

The Danube after the Kazan gorge

After Kazan gorge, the Danube becomes much wider. The road still continues next to the large river until Moldova Nouă. You will drive through multiple Romanian villages.

The Danube river after the Kazan gorge
Small village on the Serbian side.

A short stop after Svinița

After we left the Romanian village of Svinița, we made a short stop next to the Danube. From here you can actually spot the mountains and the steep cliffs which are emerging from the river both on the Romanian and the Serbian side.

Large mountains next to the Danube near the Romanian village of Svinița,

Near the end

Not far from our final point of this road trip along the Danube river, we saw a large wind farm in Romania on top of a mountain. Also not far from this place, but this time in Serbia, you will find the Golubac fortress which was built right next to the Danube.

A wind farm next to the Danube river on the Romanian side.
Empty road in the Iron Gates
The Danube river near Golubac fortress.


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