Ochiul Beiului or The “Eye of the Lake” or Eye of Bei is a karst lake with an area of 284 m² near Beușnița Waterfalls on the Beu brook, in Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park.in Banat , a region in western Romania.
Ochiul Beiului It is fed by a submerged spring. The maximum depth is 3.6 m,Interestingly, this lake never freezes, the water temperature remaining constant throughout the year, between 4 and 8 degrees Celsius. The transparency of the water in which the pine forest and the sky are reflected, the turquoise color of the lake, almost unreal, make it a place of story..
The image of the lake is a fairytale one, which mesmerizes. The clear water gives the impression of a static mini-ocean, and the surrounding vegetation completes the natural picture of the story.Ochiul Beiului it is One of the most popular tourist attractions in Caraş-Severin County and a protected natural monument.
Access : Coordinates: 44.936445, 21.790372 / Ochiul Beiului Lake is located in an area of impressive wildlife in the Cheile Nerei – Beușnița National Park, on the border of the Anina Mountains with the Locvei Mountains, at an altitude of 310 meters , in Banat , a region in western Romania.
Highlights :
- Lake Ochiul Beiului is of karst origin, is located at an altitude of 310 m and has a maximum depth of 4 meters. It is a small lake (barely 20 m in diameter), circular, surrounded by trees, which immediately impresses you with a unique thing: the color turquoise.
- You can reach Ochiul Beiului Lake by following a light route through the Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park, where you will have the opportunity to see several waterfalls formed along the Beușnița River.
- The legend of Ochiul Beiului Lake : Once upon a time, the son of a bei (Ottoman ruler) from the region, a boy with some disturbing blue eyes, fell very much in love with a beautiful Romanian woman from the parts of the place. However, his father did not agree with this relationship, which is why he ordered the girl to be killed. Upset, the boy constantly shed tears, from which formed the spring that feeds today’s turquoise lake, after which he also ended his days in the same place. It is said that the girl turned into the Beușnița river, and the boy into the Ochiul Beiului lake.
Another legend says that the lake appeared a few hundred years ago, when the son of a famous Bey fell in love with the daughter of a shepherd from the village of Potoc. So he kidnapped the girl and locked her in the Grand Tower of the Nerei Gorges. The young girl managed to escape, but Bey’s father discovered her and ordered her execution. Bey’s son was so saddened by this news that he shed so many tears to fill the lake that today bears his name and has the color of his eyes. In fact, the lake is shaped like an oval crater or eye, about 20 meters in diameter.
Furious and desperate that he could not live with the beautiful girl he loved again, Bey’s son committed suicide in the lake. So they say that the girl turned into a river, the river Beusnita, and the young bey into a lake, the lake “Ochiul Beiului” … - Hiking : From Ochiul Beiului you can continue your hike to Beușnița Waterfall ( the big one), the 20-25 minute route being easy.
Go next : At a distance of only 20 minutes from Ochiul Beiului is the first and largest waterfall of Beușnița, which has a waterfall of about 12-15 meters. / The nearby medieval fortress Ilidia, are one of the most beautiful tourist spots in Banat.
