Bucegi Sphinx
Natural rock formation · Bucegi Mountains, Romania
Photo: Radu Privantu / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as also published on Street Art Utopia.
The Sphinx (Sfinxul din Bucegi) is a natural rock formation in Bucegi Natural Park, in Romania’s Bucegi Mountains, within the Babele group of rock formations. Source Checked Peplaiuri describes it as a block of conglomerate and sandstone about 8 metres high and 11–12 metres wide, worn by water, wind and repeated frost rather than by people, whose human-head profile shows only from the side. Source Checked
Seen Nov 2025: the newest dated photograph we found on Wikimedia Commons shows the Sphinx on 24 November 2025 (in More photos below). The photo above was taken on 24 July 2009. Source Checked
More photos
đź’ˇ 5 things to know
- A face from one side onlyPeplaiuri says the familiar profile shows only from the side, from marked spots around the rock where nearly all visitors stop; from the front or back it looks like a plain mound of layered stone. Source Checked
- The name came decades laterThe oldest known photo, from about 1900, shows the rock head-on and was titled “Babele din Caraiman”. English Wikipedia and Rumaenien-tourismus.de date the Sphinx name to 1936; Romanian Wikipedia says it was first used officially in a 1935 article in Buletin Alpin. Source Source Source Conflicting
- On film and on a banknotePeplaiuri notes it appeared in historical films such as “Dacii” (1967) and on the back of the 50,000-lei note of 2000. Source Checked
- No chisel neededA geology explainer finds no scientific evidence of hand carving in the sources it consulted: wind, frost and water shaped the conglomerate. Rumaenien-tourismus.de also says theories of a man-made structure have no scientific evidence. Source Source Checked
- Clearest in late NovemberAccording to English Wikipedia, its outline is clearest on 21 November, as the sun goes down; the geology explainer notes that popular gatherings on the plateau take place on 28 November instead. Source Source Reported
đź“Ť Where it is
On the Bucegi plateau, about 500 metres north of the upper station of the Bușteni–Babele cable car, in the commune of Moroeni, Dâmbovița County, Romania. Source Checked
Opens Google Maps at the Sphinx’s coordinates on the Bucegi plateau (45.4083, 25.4703, as given by English Wikipedia).
🗓️ Sightings
- 1900
Oldest known photo (about 1900), taken head-on
- 1967
Appears in the film “Dacii” · Peplaiuri
- 2000
On the back of the 50,000-lei banknote
- 200924 Jul
Photographed in profile · Wikimedia Commons
- 201110 Dec
Photographed under snow · Wikimedia Commons
- 201323 Jul
Photographed in summer · Wikimedia Commons
- 20178 Aug
Photographed with a stone spiral in front · Wikimedia Commons
- 202524 Nov
Photographed in late autumn · Wikimedia Commons
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark dated records and reports.
🗞️ In the sources
“Sfinxul e un megalit natural de pe platoul Munților Bucegi, un bloc de conglomerate și gresii înalt de aproximativ 8 m și lat de 11–12 m.”
“The Sphinx is a natural megalith on the plateau of the Bucegi Mountains, a block of conglomerates and sandstones about 8 m high and 11–12 m wide.”
“Der Fels erhielt seinen Namen erst 1936, als erstmals ein Foto aus seitlicher Perspektive aufgenommen wurde”
“The rock only got its name in 1936, when a photo was first taken from a side-on perspective.”
“No scientific evidence of hand carving in the consulted sources; the legends are listed below as legends, each with its source.”
âś… The facts
- Height
- About 8 m (Romanian Wikipedia, Peplaiuri, the lead of English Wikipedia); the geology section of English Wikipedia, citing a 2013 study, gives over 10 m Source Source Source Conflicting
- Width
- About 11–12 m (Peplaiuri); 12 m in English Wikipedia, 11.5 m in a Romanian Wikipedia photo caption Source Source Source Checked
- Altitude
- 2,216 m (English Wikipedia, Rumaenien-tourismus.de) or 2,206 m (Romanian Wikipedia) Source Source Source Conflicting
- Rock age
- Albian conglomerate, laid down under the sea about 113–100 million years ago, according to mariuscomper.uk Source Reported
- Oldest photo
- About 1900, taken head-on and titled “Babele din Caraiman” Source Source Source Checked
- Named the Sphinx
- 1935, in Buletin Alpin (Romanian Wikipedia), or 1936 (English Wikipedia, Rumaenien-tourismus.de) Source Source Source Conflicting
- County dispute
- Prahova and Dâmbovița counties went to court from 2001; Romanian Wikipedia and mariuscomper.uk give a final ruling for Dâmbovița by the Pitești Court of Appeal in September 2022, while Peplaiuri says the dispute ended for good in 2026 Source Source Source Conflicting
đź”— Related
All sources & image credits
- Wikipedia (English): Sphinx (Romania)
- Wikipedia (Romanian): Sfinxul din Bucegi
- Peplaiuri: Sfinxul din Bucegi (information checked 30 September 2026)
- mariuscomper.uk: The Sphinx and the Babele: Wind or Chisel? (updated 30 September 2026)
- Rumaenien-tourismus.de: Die Bucegi-Sphinx in den Bucegi-Bergen
- Wikimedia Commons: Bucegi Sphinx, 24 July 2009
- Wikimedia Commons: Bucegi Sphinx in winter, 10 December 2011
- Wikimedia Commons: Bucegi Sphinx, 23 July 2013
- Wikimedia Commons: The Sphinx, Bucegi Mountains, 8 August 2017
- Wikimedia Commons: Sfinxul din Muntii bucegi, 24 November 2025
- Image: Radu Privantu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (file page), as also published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share image was made from it. More photos: Lau27 (2011, CC BY-SA 3.0), Giuseppe Milo (2017, CC BY 2.0) and Adrian11Eu (2025, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Last checked: 4 November 2026. How we verify art