The Bucegi Mountains rise directly above Sinaia, providing the backdrop to the resort and the main reason to come beyond the royal architecture. The massif reaches 2,505 metres at Omu Peak and offers some of the most accessible high-mountain walking in Romania, thanks to a cable car system that carries visitors from the valley floor to the plateau at around 2,000 metres in minutes.
From the Cota 2000 cable car station, a network of marked trails crosses the Bucegi Plateau — a moorland landscape of limestone outcrops, alpine meadows, and dramatic cliff edges above the Prahova Valley. The Babele and Sphinx formations, strange mushroom-shaped limestone rocks sculpted by frost and wind over millennia, are the most photographed features on the plateau. They're easily reached on foot from the cable car station. On clear days the views south over the Wallachian plain extend far into the distance.
The plateau is exposed and weather changes quickly. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent in summer — start hiking early and bring a waterproof layer. In winter the ski area extends across the slopes below the plateau, with runs down to Cota 1400 and back to the town. The ski runs are modest by Alpine standards but reliable for a family long weekend.