Cheia

Cheia is an all-season health and holiday resort of national importance, situated in SE central Romania, within the purview of commune Maneciu (Prahova County), on river Teleajen, at the foothills of Ciucas Mountains (Eastern Carpathians), elevation 871m, 61 km N of Ploiesti.

The resort enjoys a tonic-stimulant intra-mountain depression climate, highly Ozoned air. Cool summers (July average temperature about 16°C) and not too cold winters (January average 4°C below) make it for a pleasant stay. The resort, characterized by relatively low atmospheric pressure, clean air free of dust and allergens and rich in ultraviolet radiation, with a marked ionization of the atmosphere, is a fine rest and recreation place for people suffering from asthenic neurosis, physical and intellectual overextertion, benign hyperthyroidism, rachitis, juvenile growth disorders, secondary anemias etc.

Touristic developments refer to villas and a couple of hotels. The looks are still rural, which makes the ;resort even more chrming, while the road that goes up to Muntele Rosu Hut is a good approach to the mountains to the North. The hiking trips that start in the resort are pleasant and nice, lacking difficult passages. Another attraction of the resort, Cheia Monastery, initially a 1770 wooden structure, was rebuilt in brick in 1835; the church of the monastery was painted in 1837 by Gheroghe Tattarescu, a famous Romanian painter. Near the resort there is the beautiful Suzana Monastery (19th century).