About 20 kilometers away from Cluj, in the locality with the same name, is located the Gilău storage lake, formed by the conjunction of Someșul Rece (Cold Someș) and Someșul Cald (Warm Someș) rivers. From here stems the Someșul Mic (Little Someș) river, which crosses Cluj-Napoca city.
You can get here by car (the road crosses the dam), in about 30 minutes from Cluj (or more, when there are traffic jams in Florești, which happens quite often), or by bus, which takes you to the center of Gilău and there`s a 15 minute walk from there to the dam. We took the bus.
The streets in the village are asphalted, and the old peasant houses are gradually replaced by modern houses, some of them made in good taste, others – not so much. The dam is easy to reach, being the main attraction in Gilău. There are several trout farms in the area, which took advantage of the water abundance; we didn`t taste the fish this time, but we`ve put it on the list.
On the roadsides there are sometimes locals selling mushrooms freshly picked from the forests surrounding the area. But, as tempting as they are, we didn`t give in, as we don`t really trust this type of trade when we are talking about potentially dangerous produce.
The dam is impressive! Though it`s not the among largest barrages in the country, the thought that a simple concrete wall holds in place tons of water makes you think about the force of nature and human ingenuity. There is, of course, a hydropower plant that profits from the free energy provided by water and mountains.
Unfortunately, there is some garbage floating on the water, mainly plastic bottles, thrown there by persons with no respect for nature or for their fellow people. But you can also see beautiful things like banks of fish and seabirds. We admired some ducks with their ducklings and how cute were they swimming near the shore, paddling the water with their perfectly tailored feet, in a straight, orderly, nearly military formation.
The lake is surrounded by woods, the view is superb! Motorboats are not permitted on the lake, but there are allowed classic boats with paddles. Swimming is only recommended to experienced swimmers, due to the depth of the water. There are already some villas and cabins by the lake, maybe some pensions will be built in the future – the area is practically virgin tourism-wise.
By the lake, there is Motel Gilău, a hotel + restaurant, which, unfortunately, is poorly renovated and excessively expensive. But, from its terrace there are stairs and a path to the lake, were you can find some benches and logs on which you can sit to admire the small waves on the water, the effervescence of the fish in the lake and listen to the murmur of the trees. You get touched by calm in this quiet place, very different from the city nearby.
There`s not much you can do here. It`s mostly a place for relaxation, walking, taking pictures and taking a break from the urban jungle that is Cluj. There is also the Wass-Banfy castle in Gilău, historical monument, an aristocratic manor dating back to the Austro-Hungarian period, but, the building being private property and in a renovation process, it`complicated to visit and the unfriendly dogs around it don`t help.
We hitchhiked back to Cluj, more at peace with the Universe and with ourselves after this small dose of nature, chained by man, but still beautiful and strong.
