# Banat

For the purpose of this article, Banat is a region in western Romania.

## Understand

Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe that is divided between Romania, Serbia and Hungary. This article refers to the Romanian part of the Banat, which consists of the Timiș and Caraș-Severin counties and the western part of Mehedinți county. For the Serbian part of Banat, see Vojvodina. The Hungarian part of Banat is included in the Great Hungarian Plain article.
The (Romanian part of) Banat is usually divided in:
* The Banat Highlands (Banatul Montan/Banatul de Munte), which consists of the Banat Mountains and the nearby hills
* The Banat Lowlands (Banatul de Pustă), which consists of the southern part of Romania's Western Plain

## Cities and towns
### Banat lowlands

* 45.75972221.231 Timișoara - third biggest city in Romania; university city, industrial center
* 45.6521.62 Buziaș - old spa town
* 45.521.1333333 Ciacova - in 1390-1394 a fortress surrounded by a network of canals was built here; only a tower, 30m tall, survives today
* 45.421.224 Deta
* 45.8522.185 Făget
* 45.43333321.4333336 Gătaia
* 45.79166720.7222227 Jimbolia
* 45.68611121.9005568 Lugoj
* 45.80138921.5133339 Recaș - small town not far from Timișoara, famous for vineyards
* 46.07222220.62944410 Sânnicolau Mare - westernmost town in the country, inhabited since Bronze Age, place of a Roman castrum and birthplace of the composer Béla Bartók

### Banat highlands

* 45.321.89027811 Reșița - famous for the steel works and other heavy industry before 1989, now mostly a gateway to nearby Semenic mountain
* 45.09166721.85333312 Anina - old mining town, now mostly famous for the touristic Anina-Oravița mountain railway
* 44.87722222.417513 Băile Herculane - ancient spa town, since the Roman times; hot springs, beautiful architecture (from the Habsburg times) and amazing scenery
* 45.37472221.71055614 Bocșa - old industrial town
* 45.42138922.22194415 Caransebeș
* 44.83871422.12939316 Eftimie Murgu - village famous for hundreds of years for the watermills, some still used today
* 45.03333321.68333317 Oravița - oldest theatre in the country (1817), oldest pharmacy in the Banat highlands (1763)
* 44.72527822.39611118 Orșova - port city on the Danube, close to cazanele mari and cazanele mici - two important sections of the Iron Gates gorge and to the tallest rock sculpture in Europe
* 44.8968621.69489119 Sasca Montană - old mining village, now a gateway to the Nera Gorge

## Other destinations

* 44.95119421.88821 Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park - gorges, caves and waterfalls
* 45.14221.9772 Semenic-Cheile Carașului National Park - Semenic ski resort, the famous village of Gărâna, gorges and caves
* 44.63822.1063 Iron Gates Natural Park - the Danube Canyon

## Get in
### By plane

* 45.8121.3380561 Timișoara Traian Vuia International Airport (TSR Aeroportul Internațional Timișoara - Traian Vuia). Romania's third-largest airport, 10 km away from the city center. There are regular flights from numerous major European and domestic destinations. (updated Mar 2024)

## See
### Monasteries

* 45.2172522.3019891 Piatra Scrisă Monastery (Mănăstirea Piatra Scrisă).
* 45.81828722.3238652 Spring of Miron (Hot Pond) Monastery (Mănăstirea Izvorul lui Miron (Balta Caldă)) (at the foothills of Poiana Rusca Mountains, 1km from the road leading from Românești to Tomești). It has a thermal water spring, with a constant temperature of 18°C.
* 44.816221.393 Baziaș Monastery (Mănăstirea Baziaș). A medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery, established in 1225, located in the Baziaș village. Baziaș is famous for being the place where the Danube enters Romania.

### Museums

* 45.79853122.0670544 Traian Vuia Museum (Muzeul Traian Vuia). Museum dedicated to Traian Vuia, the inventor and aviation pioneer, in the village he was born in (now named after him).
* 45.87175220.8018725 Nikolaus Lenau Memorial House (Casa Memorială Nikolaus Lenau).

### Natural attractions

* 45.7530421.4259856 Bazoș Arboretum (Parcul Dendrologic Bazoș). (updated Mar 2016)
* 45.75632622.1396837 Surduc Lake (Lacul Surduc). Dam construction began in 1972. The lake's main purpose is to provide drinking water to Timișoara area and defend against floods. With an area of 460 hectares, Surduc is the largest lake in Timiș county. Fishing is permitted throughout the lake area and at any time except prohibition. Existing fish are carp, crucian carp, pike, bream.
* 45.79689822.3505788 Românești Cave (Pestera Românești) (southeast of the Românești village, the left side of the Fărășești Valley). Românești cave is the second largest in Timiș county. Part of the medium category caves, with a total development of 1,450 m, it is arranged horizontally on 3 levels. The main entrance is oriented N-NW, is 9.5 m wide and 2 m high, which allows diffuse light to about 70 m. In the Bats Hall you can find a permanent colony of bats. Upper and middle floor is of fossil nature. The floor below is accessible only to speleologists with equipment. The cave is famous for its great acoustics. Since 1984, Speotimiș Speleological Association organizes the traditional annual concert that takes place in October.

### Ruins

* 45.39493722.3493989 Turnu Ruieni (a small hike from the village with the same name). Medieval watching tower, now a ruin. (updated Mar 2016)
* 45.12019721.58716710 Grădinari Hill Tower (Turnul din deal Grădinari). Old church tower, now a ruin.
* 45.1165721.6046311 Turkish bridge (Podul turcesc). 18th century bridge. Now unused, but listed as a historic monument.

## Do
### Ski

* Semenic ski resort and several other ski pistes in the Semenic-Cheile Carașului National Park
* 45.35866122.4639511 Muntele Mic. Ski resort in the Țarcu mountains.

### Festivals

* Gărâna Jazz Festival is a huge open-air jazz festival taking place every year in July in the Wolf's Meadow (Poiana Lupului), near the small village of Gărâna, up in the Semenic mountains.

## Drink

Most popular drink is rachie (read rakie), which is distilled from plums, at home. The difference between the rachie and the pălincă which you find in other parts of Romania is that rachie is single-distilled, which gives it a 30-something degree strength, while the pălincă is double-distilled and always above 50ºC.

## Sleep

* 45.98185921.5557041 Casa Altringen. (updated Apr 2016)