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For
this trip we have put the accent on the nature of the
North- and South Carpathians (Rodna-, Rarau- and
Harghita Mountains), the Southern Carpathians (Bucegi-,
Piatra Craiului-, and Fagaras Mountains) and the West
Carpathians (Bihor Mountains)
Every
day you can make longer or shorter hikes in the nature
reserves in these mountains. Je make the transfers with your
car or a rental car.
You
stay overnight in comfortable guestrooms and pensions , all
the rooms have private bathrooms. You'll enjoy each night a
typical hearty meal, in
the morning is a large continental breakfast, and you make
yourself a lunch-packet for noon. The Romanian kitchen is
simple but tasteful, cooked mostly with home grown products or
from the village. In Cluj Napoca and Sibiu you have bed and
breakfast. There are in both towns dozens of restaurants to
choose from.
Access:
the places where the daily hiking strips start can all be
reached with a normal car. You can leave each time
your car there without problems.
The
hikes are made for the large public with a normal
physical condition. Sportive people can extend the
hikes.
Besides
the nature reserves there is also time for cultural and historical sites.
The
nature: The biodiversity of the different mountains regions is
very special. There are dozens of endemic plants, birdwatchers
will see eagles and other predator birds, blue jay's, song
birds, woodpeckers, grouse, pheasant and much more. There is
still brown bear, wolf and lynx in the mountains, but there is
little chance that you will meet one. They are wild, except
the bears near the resorts around Brasov that roam the garbage
bins at night. Culture:
You travel through Maramures, Bukovina and Transylvania. The
3 different regions are also very different regarding
architecture, history, customs and folklore. You can visit the
historical towns Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara, the wooden
churches and gates in Maramures, the painted monasteries of
Bukovina and the fortified churches of Transylvania. Practical: You
receive the day of arrival an extensive road-book, addresses
of the accommodations, tourist information, maps and described
hikes. The
rental car: The car will be brought to the pension in Cluj
Napoca at 9am on day 2. The car will be picked up at 6pm on
day 14, again at the pension in Cluj Napoca. (totals 13 days)
The warranty for the rental car can be paid with credit
card.
A short
description of the trip:
Day
1 Arrival in Cluj Napoca. You will be picked up from the airport or train
station and be brought to a cozy pension downtown Cluj Napoca.
We'll introduce the program.
Day 2 You'll get the rental car and drive to Maramures. (total transfer
without visits about 4 hours) You'll drive through a pastoral landscape along
some fine historical fortified churches, a roman site and you can make a stop at
the nature reserve "La Saratura" (salt reserve with special plants)
Maramures. The region is especially known for the wooden
churches and gates, its traditions. You stay overnight in Salistea de Sus.
Day 3 Short transfer to the Borsa ski resort and hike in the Rodna
Mountains. More then half of the ridge is Alpine and lies
above 2.000m The highest peak, the
Pietrosul Mare measures 2.303m and is the highest peak of the
eastern Carpathians. There are 25 alpine lakes. There is an
alpine vegetation up to 1.950m. You'll find about all of the
European carnivores and other game in the mountains. You
stay overnight in Borsa.
Day 4 Transfer to Bukovina.(about 4 h) You descend in the Bistrita
valley and follow the "golden" Bistrita river almost
till Bukovina. Bukovina is especially know for its painted
monasteries. They are fortified monasteries, built to protect
the region against invading Turks and Tartars. Special
is that the monastery churches are not only have painted
frescoes inside, but also on the exterior walls. You stay
overnight in Vatra Moldovitei, nearby the Moldovita monastery.
Day
5 Short transfer en hike in the Rarau Mountains.
The mountains are known for the special limestone rock
formations, one of them, the Lady's Rock is about 70m high and
has Mesozoic fossils. Besides that, there is a secular forest with 50m tall
spruce and pine trees. Accommodation again in Vatra Moldovitei.
Day 6 Transfer to Miercurea Ciuc. (5 hours driving) You will drive
through the narrow Bicaz canyon with 300m high vertical walls,
you come along Lacu Rosu (Red lake) formed after a landslide
in the 19th century, where you can make a hike. You enter the Szekely counties where the ethnic Hungarians have the
majority. Castle lovers should make a detour to the Lazarea
Castle (Polish architecture) Castle is in restoration and
there is a contemporary art gallery. You stay near Miercurea
Ciuc for the night and enjoy a typical Hungarian dinner. Day 7 Hike in the Harghita
Mountains. You walk around the Luci moor to the southwest of
Miercurea Ciuc. The nature reserve lies at an altitude
of 1.080m
and the moor is 273 hectares large. Especially are the dwarf
birch (Betula nana), sundew, cotton grass, bilberry,
cranberry, lesser tway blade, lesser pocket moss, swamp
cinquefoil. You stay overnight in Miercurea Ciuc. Day 8
Transfer to Bran and hike around St Anna Lake. St Anna Lake is the only volcanic
lake in Europe. It lies at 944m altitude. Nearby is a secondary
crater where
a 10m thick peat. You can find up to 20 types of moss. There
are special plants such as several types of sundew (relicts
since the last Ice-time), bog rosemary, rannoch-rush,
crowberry, cranberry and some special ground beetles and
spiders , running foliage spider, gnaphosa opaca Herman.
Bran is worldwide known for its castle. You stay overnight in
a fine guesthouse at a few minutes walking from the castle. Day
9 Short transfer to Moieciu de Sus and hike in the Bucegi Mountains. The
Bucegi Mountains are known for their colorful diversity in plants and it's
strange erosions. They are the most visited mountains in Romania.
You
make a hike at the southern slopes. Most foreign
visitors are amazed about the enormous variety of wild plants
and flowers all over Romania. You will find all kind of
orchids, gentians, campanulas and 12% of the plants are
endemic to the Carpathian Mountains. You have a good chance to
make nice pictures of the wild chamois. You stay
overnight again in Bran
Day
10 Short transfer and hike in the Piatra Craiului
Mountains. Piatra Craiului Mountains are Romania's most loved
mountains, a small but beautiful limestone ridge from where
you have superb views over the surrounding country. The
mountain ridge has the biggest bio-diversity of the country. Special
plants are Dianthus callizonus, Saxifraga
demissa and Dianthus henteri. The always fascinating “Edelweiss”
you find mainly at the western slopes. The
hike brings you in and around the Zarnesti canyon. You
stay overnight again in Bran Optional
you can visit the historic town Brasov, Peles castle, Risnov
fortress. You can choose on day 9 and 10 for a short or longer
hike.
You can visit a special page about
Brasov:
Click
here
Day 11 Transfer to Sibiu: Or by Sighisoara and the fortified churches
in the Saxon villages, or by the Trans-fagaras highway
where you cross the Fagaras ridge at 2.000m.
If
you travel by Sighisoara: The town is known as one of
the best preserved medieval towns in Europe. The
fortified churches are unique in Europe. More then
hundred churches were transformed to fortified
fortresses during the middle ages. The have fortified
walls, towers, bastions, defense galleries, even
sometimes a moot. If
you travel by the Transfagaras highway, you might visit the
real Dracula Castle in Poienari. The road brings you further
along Lake Vidra and over the ridge. You can make a hike to 2
alpine lakes on short distance from the road.
Sibiu
was in 2007 Cultural Capital of Europe, together with Luxemburg.
More
info about Sibiu:
Click
here
Day
12 Transfer to the Bihor Mountains in the West Carpathians. (about 4 hours
driving) You drive to the village Girda de Sus, along the
Aries River on the eastern border of the Apuseni Nature Park.
The Western Carpathians offer a very varied landscape. Crystalline
and volcanic mountain ridges interchange with limestone massifs.
The
region is a large plateau where rivers or tectonic forces cut
deep canyons. The altitude is generally between 600 and 1850m.
The mountains are very green. Enormous deciduous and evergreen
forests cover the ridges and valleys. This autochthon varied
landscape where the trails once go through the forest, then
along open meadow is much loved by the hikers.
You stay in
comfortable guestrooms in Girda de Sus.
We've
included a special page about the Apuseni Mountains:
click
here
Dag
13 Hike to the Ice cave. The cave lies at an
altitude of 1100m
and at the bottom of the cave lies and enormous bloc of ice,
75.000 m3 big. It is here since the last Ice time. This cold
mass of ice cools the air down and seeping water freezes up to
beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. A longer hike can be
made to the village Casa de Piatra where you can see several
caves. There is the Coiba Mare with an impressive 74m wide entrance
portal, there is the Tauz karst spring and the Ghetarul de la
Virtop cave. Optional you can visit nature reserve Padis, a
very well known fascinating karst region with dozens of caves,
canyons and dolines. You stay again in Girda de Sus.
Day 14 Transfer to Cluj Napoca. You travel via the nature reserve Turda
Canyon. The Turda Canyon offers more then 1.000 types of
plants. The flora is very heterogeneous because of the
geographic location, the limestone underground and the special
micro climate. There is Allium obliquum
a plant that grows further only in the Tian Shan Mountains in Turkestan
and southern Ural Mountains. There is Ferula sadleriana
(endemic and an inter Carpathian relict that grows further
only at 5 regions along the Danube. You stay overnight in the
cozy pension in Cluj Napoca. Day
15 End of the trip after breakfast.
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| 1 Rodna Mountains
2 Rarau Mountains
3 Harghita
Mountains
4 Bucegi and Piatra
Craiului Mountains
5 Fagaras Mountains
6 West Carpathians |
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