Cindrel Mountains

From the Transylvanian Plateau, with heights between 200 and 400 metres (660 and 1,310 ft), in the North and East, the heights grow abruptly through a zone of deep valleys at about 900 m (3,000 ft) on the verge of the massif where some villages are situated.

Because the massif is easily accessible, the ethnographical area Mărginimea Sibiului has formed around the mountain, having sheep-herding and wood industry as the main occupations.

The Păltiniș resort is situated halfway between the village of Rășinari and the Cindrel Peak [ro], with hotels, chalets and a ski slope.

The resort has developed around a small monastery in which the Romanian philosopher Constantin Noica spent the last part of his life.

Between the Cindrel Mountains and the Transylvanian Plateau, the river forms a wide depression—the Sibiu Depression [ro]—in which the main city in the area, Sibiu, lies.