Just beyond Cluj-Napoca lies Pădurea Hoia, a forest whose name stirs whispers of the unexplained. Known internationally as the “Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” the Hoia-Baciu Forest is a site of contradictions, both peaceful and unnerving, quiet and charged with stories of UFOs, apparitions, and people who enter and feel something watching back.

My destination was Poiana Rotundă, the strange clearing at the forest’s heart. A near-perfect circle where no trees grow, it has become a focal point for paranormal researchers, mystics, and curious hikers like myself. It is a place that doesn’t explain itself, and maybe that is part of its power.

A Walk Between Worlds

The forest greeted us with vibrant greenery, the canopy alive with the melodies of chirping birds. As we traversed approximately 8 kilometers of its winding paths, an intriguing sensation emerged: subtle shifts in ambiance from one area to another. While no overt eeriness pervaded our journey, these nuanced changes in atmosphere hinted at the forest’s layered mysteries.

The Clearing’s Silent Echoes

Reaching Poiana Rotundă, we stood in the famed treeless expanse, where, in 1968, military technician Emil Barnea captured photographs of an alleged UFO hovering above. The clearing’s anomalous nature has puzzled scientists and fueled legends, with soil analyses revealing no apparent reason for the lack of vegetation. Some speculate that this area serves as a portal to other dimensions, a theory bolstered by tales of unexplained phenomena experienced by visitors.

Whispers Among the Trees

As we delved deeper, the forest’s famed crooked trees came into view, trunks contorted into unnatural shapes, spiraling in a uniform direction. The origins of these deformations remain a mystery, with theories ranging from environmental factors to remnants of past human interventions. Some suggest that these twisted forms result from gravitational anomalies or energy fields unique to the area.