Bălănești Hill

Where is Bălănești Hill?

Bălănești Hill is part of the Codri Hills.

You will find it in: Moldova.

Summit: 47.217° N, 28.083° E

The story behind it

The Codri Hills look like a rumpled green blanket, and Bălănești Hill is simply the highest fold in it, named after the village at its foot. Oak, beech and hornbeam cover the slopes, and in spring the forest floor turns blue and white with flowers before the leaves close the roof above them. Rainwater has cut deep gullies into the soft clay and sand of the hill, so paths often dip suddenly between steep banks. Farmers plant vines, walnut trees and plum orchards on the sunny sides, while roe deer, wild boar and dozens of songbird species stay in the woods. There is no rocky summit to reach, only a broad clearing with a wide view over ridges that fade into the haze, which is why people come for a picnic rather than an adventure.

Find it on the globe

Bălănești Hill is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.