Dragons’ Garden

The Dragons’ garden is a unique landscape in the whole world. It is the most famous, most visited and most impressive sight in Szilágy (Sălaj) County. The protected geological and landscape natural reservation is the home of some peculiar formations. The current appearance of the rocks is due to corrosion (wind, rain, snow etc.), water and vegetation, thus their form is continuously changing and Dragons may change in appearance or height. The uniqueness of the Dragon rocks attracts not only tourists, but researchers as well.

The garden is located in the central-eastern area of the Szilágy (Sălaj) County, 9 km from Zsibó (Jibou), in the Almás (Almaș) basin, on the Western territory of the Almásgalgó (Gâlgău Almașului) village, in the near vicinity of the national road DN1H connecting Zilah (Zalău) to Zsibó (Jibou). The first part of the road will reveal the bird’s eye view of the whole Garden; from the upper part of the rim the road will take the adventurer in the middle of bizarre shapes (towers, mushrooms, needles rocky steeps, humans or animals).

How did these wonderful “creatures” appear here? The answer is simple: the different geological layers (relatively mildly cemented hone, mixed with gravel and conglomerates) were “sculpted” by the action of air (freezing-melting, wind, temperature), water (washing, dripping), and of the gravitational processes (detachment, crumbling), thus forming the Dragons.

The rock formations create a bizarre chaotic pile, very beautiful and interesting. The Dragons continuously change their shape because of the same reasons: wind, rain, snow, vegetation, etc. While some older documents describe them as being 23-30 meters tall, nowadays their height is 10-15 m. Their lifespan depends on the composition of the upper protective layer.

The irregular rocks bear interesting names: “The Soldier’s Daughter”, “the Dragon and the Dragon Lady”, “the Old Man”, “the Monks”, “the Captain”, “the Soldiers”, “Eve”, “The Dorobant”, “the Little Finger”, “the Sphinx”.

Their special singularity make the Dragons wonder worthy.