Discover Romania
Romania
Loving Nature
Are you a fan of the mountain and adventure?
Accommodation and meals - in the mountain areas where the trekking is done - during the last years, the mountain chalets have become private properties, providing excellent accommodation and meal serving. They are composed of two-bedded rooms, three-bedded rooms, rooms with 3-5 beds or dormitories. Some of them also include hot water shower rooms.
Day I
Bucharest ? Sinaia / 130 km
Arrival to Otopeni international airport. Meeting your guide. Departure by minibus to Sinaia the ?Pearl of the Carpathians? ? a resort situated at 125 km from Bucharest. Sinaia combines the values of a mountain and winter sports resort with the natural factors that are at the service of the human health and recovery. Dinner and accommodation in Sinaia.
Day II Sinaia ? Omu Peak
Breakfast. Going up by cable transport from Sinaia to Cota 2000 Chalet, and walking to Babele Chalet (~ 2400 meters high). The road from Cota 2000 Chalet to Babele Chalet takes 3 hours. It takes another 5 hours until Omu Chalet (2507 meters high). Dinner and accommodation in more than 3 bedded rooms in the chalet.
Day III
Omu Peak ? Bran
Brakfast. Way down to Bran by Gaura Valley ? 6 hours. Dinner and accommodation in traditional local houses in Bran.
Day IV
Bran ? Valea Sambetei
Breakfast. In the morning - visit Bran Castle. The castle, built in 1377, is an important national monument and landmark of Transylvania, due not only to the majestic beauty of the castle and the uncanny landscape, but also to the legend of Count Dracula. Trip to Sambata Monastery by bus, then going up to Valea Simbetei Chalet (1407 meters high), in the Fagaras Mountains. The road from Sambata Monastery to Valea Simbetei Chalet takes 2.5 hours. Dinner and accommodation.
Day V
Valea Sambetei ? Ramet / 200 km
Breakfast. Way down to Sambata and continuation of the trip by bus to Ramet Gorges, near the village of Ramet, with vertical walls and steep slopes with 47 cave entrances, niches, archways, towers, cornices and structural shelves, where can be found the edelweiss and the white China pink, plants acknowledged as monuments of nature. You?ll have the opportunity to explore these gorges on your own. Dinner and accommodation in the area.
Day VI
Ramet ? Albac / 150 km
Breakfast. Departure to visit Turda Gorges forming a wonderful karst landscape. A river has cut in Jurassic limestone an impressive corridor more than 3 km in length. The corridor is guarded by steep rocks, rising up to 350 m. This rocks host about 60 caves. In Turda Gorges one can admire various species of species of butterflies and approximately 1,000 species of plants, some of them unique in the world. Turda Gorges represent a unique preserve (geological, floristic, faunistic, and archaeological) and are declared monuments of nature.
Day VII
Albac ? Apuseni Mountains / 150 km
Breakfast. Departure by bus to the next village closed to Albac. Start the day with visit of the Poarta Lui Johele Cave; it is a typical show cave Romanian style. It is equipped with stairs and paths, and the local teacher guides tours after appointment, but there is no electric light and no reliable open hours. The cave is pretty impressive. Even the way to the cave is impressive, as it is a 10 minutes walk up a typical karst valley with steep walls and some shelters. The biggest shelter is often used for parties by the locals, there are benches and desks, and often used fire places. Following the single line road the visitor find a place were a carbon rich water comes down from the left hillside. The water springs only a bit above the road and builds an impressive tufa terrace. The main passage has several terraces, so it is necessary to climb two huge one, about 8 to 10 meters high, on narrow, not very confidence-building wooden and iron stairs. Continuation the day with way up by foot to Scarisoara Cave ? it is a 3 hours path. The entrance to Scarisoara Cave is a shaft, 48 m deep. The hall at the ground of this abyss is filled with ice all year round. The reason for this strange situation is the height of the cave, where the winters are rather cold, and the form of the entrance: like refrigerators in supermarkets, the cave stores the low temperature, as the cold air is heavier than the warm air outside. A stair of steep wooden and iron steps spiraled around the shaft until it reaches the bottom. This first chamber is already filled with ice. But the most impressive ice structures are found in the second chamber of the cave. The cave is very cold; the paths are very difficult to go. It is essential to use warm clothes and good shoes. The cave is not suitable for people with health problems. Dinner and accommodation in Albac area in local houses.
Day VIII
Albac ? Apuseni Mountains / 150 km
Breakfast. Departure by bus to the Bears Cave; this cave is not special by size, but in the fantastic agglomeration of speological formations, no doubt it's unique among the visited caves. Inside there are a lot of bones of the fossils. Cave's Bear, Ursus Spelaeus, extinct over 15000 years ago. The main entrance (482m alt.) is a building, with waiting hall, a bar and a handicraft shop. It has a total length of 1500 m; out of this 700 m is the lower gallery which is a scientific reservation. The upper floor is arranged with sidewalk, banisters, electricity on 847m length having three other galleries; in order of visiting: The Bears Gallery, The Emil Racovita Gallery and The Candle's Gallery. The Mastodon, The Candles, The Dwarfs, The House, The Lake with Water Lily, and Pagoda, are just a few of the architectural gems, created by nature in the depth of the cave. The exit is through a fantastic gallery adorned with candles, the last hall is symbolical named The Old's Council. The visit is aprox. 45 min., in organized groups with guides. Temperature in cave: +10?C (constant). Humidity: 97% (invariably). Lunch in the area and continuation to the next visit of Meziad Cave, a three levels one. The cave has no electric light. The cave has numerous huge stalactites at the ceiling of the main passage. They are tilted towards the cave entrance; some of them are tilted and curved. It seems, at least while water flows in the wet spring, and the stalagmites grow, there is a constant air stream out of the cave. Late in the afternoon return to Albac for dinner and accommodation.
Day IX
Albac ? Ramnicu Valcea / 300 km
Breakfast. Departure through Alba Iulia until Sebes where we stop for a visit of The Red Cliff, a geologic preserve covering an area of 10 hectares; it includes sculptural forms (columns, towers, pyramids) located on the right bank of the Secas River, shaped in 60 million years by the incessant action of the water. Lunch in Sibiel a small village at 20 kms far from Sibiu, to visit the rural museum with over 600 icons painted on glass, folk costumes, peasant furniture. Lunch in a traditional environment. Depart to Bucharest through the Olt Valley with a stop to Cozia Monastery ? one of the most valuable architectural monuments of the 14th century and a starting point for the Byzantine style in Walachia; the monastery has a valuable museum of religious art, old prints, manuscripts, and jewel. Dinner and accommodation in Ramnicu Valcea.
Day X
Ramicu Valcea ? Bucharest / 300 km
Breakfast. Departure for visit of Polovragi Cave. The biggest and the most interesting of the caves from Oltet river is the cave of Pahomie from Polovragi, cut in the left side of the gorges at 20 m from the thawed and 200 m from the entrance. It is a long cave, over 9000 m, having the main gallery mostly horizontal from which starts some lateral galleries most of all clogged by alluvia. Along the gallery three sectors are distinct. First till the Gallery of the Pillar, and starts with two little side galleries the important one being the right one named Bats Gallery. The electrified gallery continues with 2-8 m height and around 10 m width. There are frequent falls, flows from the ceiling, chimneys; here are opening little secondary galleries adorned with lime. Continuation with visit of the Women?s Cave. The name Women's Cave was given to this cave by the people from Baia de Fier. In the old times, when the men fought in frequent wars, the women (and children) were hidding in the cave. So it became the women's cave. The cave has four levels. The upper level, 40 m above the ground of the gorge is open to the public. The cave was formed by the water of the river Galbenul. Every level of the cave represents one stage of the river cutting its valley into the limestone rocks. A cupola in the chamber named the Little Dome is the home to a bat colony. In the evening arrival in Bucharest. Dinner and accommodation.
Day XI
Bucharest
Breakfast. Free time for shopping. On the way to the airport we stop for a visit of the Village Museum, an area of more than 17 ha; opened in 1936 it contains peasant households with their complete inventory, from pieces of furniture to household tools and traditional technology installations, illustrating the village universe in all regions of Romania. Transfer to the airport.
Price from 390 Euro / person for a group of 10 adventurers
The above prices include:
- Accommodation in boarding houses / chalets for 9 nights;
- Full board (starting with diner on the arrival day, ending with breakfast on the departure day; most of the meals are package to eat on the road);
- Minibus with air conditioned for all the above program;
- Guide assistance for all the above program;
- Local guides for the visited objectives;
- All entrance fees to museums and sites included in the program;
!!! Please keep in mind:
- These prices are informative and not valid for the fairs periods;
- The first and last days of the program may be modified depending on the arrival/departure time;
- The museums are closed on Mondays; Peles Castle is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays till noon;
- Meals do not include alcoholic drinks, only traditional ones.
Revelioane exotice
