The Lotru (Șteflești) Mountains unveil their 12-15 km long peaks south of the Sadu Valley, a vast line separating them from the Cindrel Mountain. To the west, the Tărtărău and Pravăț Valley distance them from Șureanu. Then the Lotru River, from its source to the Vidra Dam and Lotru again, with its necklace of lakes, all the way to Brezoi makes up their southern border. To the east, the Olt Gorge from Boița downstream up to the Lotru river mouth closes the relief. The terrain is sculpted in a uniform geologic structure of metamorphic schists layered in overthrust which allowed the slopes to maintain their massive, rounded shapes. The 1072 sq. km space is abundantly covered with forests marked by sunny clearings.
This ensemble only crosses the borders of our county with its east-west peak above the Sadu Valley through the Șteflești Saddle (1725m) and down to the narrow Tărtărău Valley separating the Lotru and Șureanu Mountains. The sector is marked by the summits of Cristești (2235 m), Șteflești (2243 m), Conțiu Mare (2030 m), Negovanu (2135 m) covered by the marked tourist trail (blue line) which gets you from Tălmăcel, Sadu, Râu Sadului to the Prejba Chalet (1630 m). On the north-south line, a tourist path marked with a red triangle links the resorts of Păltiniș and Voineasa. There is also an access road - in process of modernization - from Sădurel via the Buceciu-Dobrun Glade to Voineasa. Wherever these roads may take you the landscape, the alternating forest vegetation and the variety of the flora here are valuable elements both for the tourists and for the region.
Vegetation
The Lotru Mountains are home to several reserves with venerable trees, Blagaya’s Daphne, mountain pines and other protected plants.
Fauna
The Lotru Mountains roam with Carpathian bears, stags, deer and chamoix.