The Godeanu range constitutes a massive mountain hub located in the western extremity of the Southern Carpathians. Separated from the MehedinÃ
£i and the Vâlcan mountains by the valley of the Cerna, which forms their southeastern border, they sit between the Retezat Mountains in the northeast and the Cernei Mountains in the southwest, beyond Olanelor saddle. To the northwest of the Godeanu extends what can be called their twin range, namely the Ã
¢arcu Mountains. The Godeanu and the Ã
¢arcu are connected by the Corhale-Prislop ridge. From the perspective of a Carpathian hiker, the Godeanu Mountains are SPACE. A large part of the Godeanu rises well above timberline, creating a world of vast alpine pastures, still being grazed by flocks of sheep and herds of cattle or horses, although not nearly as intensely as in the 20th and previous centuries. The tree line must have been lowered by slash-and-burn, probably centuries ago. The krummholz zone has virtually vanished ââ¬â patches of dwarf mountain pine have survived in few places, mostly in the rockiest terrain. Still, the lower parts of the deep valleys are thickly forested, wild and home to the bear, wolf and lynx.
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