Ranca

Rânca is a tourist resort under development, located within the radius of the city of Novaci and the commune of Baia de Fier, Gorj county, Romania, located at 1,600 m altitude, at the foot of Păpușa peak in the Novaci Mountains of the Parâng Massif, 18 km from the city of Novaci on the Transalpina road.

In 1930, Banca Populară "Gilortul" from Novaci put into practice Dumitru Brezulescu's project, aiming at the creation of a mountain resort at Rânca. He started the action by building 6 cabins with 5 rooms each, and in 1937 the central cabin in Rânca was put into use, with the contribution of the then prime minister of Romania, the liberal Gheorghe Tătărăscu. Until December 1989, a lodge of OJT Gorj, a lodge administered by the University of Craiova and a lodge of the mining unions from the Oltenia coal basin were also built in Rânca. Nearby there was also a military unit where recruits from mountain hunters were trained.

Rânca is a resort under development, not having the status of a component locality of the city of Novaci or the municipality of Baia de Fier.

The ski area of ​​the resort is constantly expanding. The slope in the center of the resort, currently equipped with night equipment, is the oldest. Besides this, when the snow layer is favorable, other slopes served by ski lifts, baby skis and chair lifts (at the base of the Păpușa peak) are put into operation.

An area with potential for winter tourism and skiing that has tourist facilities is the Novaci-Baia de Fier area with slopes on an area of ​​mountain meadows, exposed to the southwest in the way of wetter air masses, with abundant precipitation in the form of snow and lower temperatures for altitudes of 1400 m-1600 m, optimal for a resort of this type. Located on one of the plateaus of the Parâng Mountains (1600 m. altitude), 18 kilometers from the town of Novaci and 63 kilometers from Târgu-Jiu, the town of Rânca experienced rapid development.

Rânca is an excellent freeride area, fans of snowboarding and extreme skiing have a huge area of ​​off-piste, the central point being represented by Vârful Păpușa (alt. 2135 m). The snow measures over 200 cm from December to April, the powder layer being maintained by frequent snowfall.

Every year, in September, on a serpentine section of the DN67c between Novaci and Rânca, the Rânca stage of the National Coastal Speed ​​Championship is held.

In September 2012, the Museum of Mountain Civilization was inaugurated in the Rânca mountain resort, under the auspices of the Gorj County Center for the Conservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture (CJCPCT). Located 200 meters from the entrance to the Rânca resort, it is designed as a living museum, in the sense that, in addition to the actual museum part related to the history and traditions of the pastoral area of ​​Gorj, in one of the rooms of the location there will be machines for the production of all dairy products.

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