10 days wildlife and hiking
for environmental reasons
the size of the group is restricted to 8
10-days
wildlife watching holiday in Brasov, Transylvania, Romania: bear
watching, wolf, bear and lynx tracking, walking in the spectacular
landscapes of the Carpathians. Untouched nature, contiguous forests,
amazing customs and hospitable people.
Day 1
Transfer to our guesthouse in Zarnesti at the foot of Piatra Craiului
National Park.
Day 2
Starting at 9.00 am, we travel by horse and cart to the entrance of the
impressive limestone canyon of the Zarnesti Gorge, where we take an
easy walk followed by a gentle climb through a forest teeming with
wildlife up to the traditional village of Magura, part of the Piatra
Craiului National Park. The canyon, with 40-80 m high wall, provides
the opportunity to look for rare birds like wallcreepers and Alpine
Swifts, and also to admire impressive Jurassic geological formations
used during the filming of many movies (e.g. Cold Mountain). One of the
Park rangers will guide us on the educational trail set on the route,
explaining more about the numerous reasons why this is a protected
area, about the flora and fauna possible to see in Piatra Craiului
massif etc.
During our walk we should see signs of bears, wild boars and roe and
red deer.
We stay in the village for a barbeque, returning to our guesthouse by
torchlight.
Day 3
In the morning we drive to Busteni (app. 1.30 h), one of the most
famous mountain resorts in Romania, situated on Prahova Valley at the
foot of Bucegi massif. We take the cable car for a breathtaking ride up
to the Bucegi Plateau (app. 2500 m). We walk to the Heroe's cross and
admire the astonishing view over Prahova Valley. If the sky is clear we
can see all the way to Bucharest.
Day 4
After breakfast we are taken by horse drawn carts to the entrance of
Birsa Valley, where we start walking towards Coltii Chiliei. Our route
passes through a mountain meadow, full of flowers in spring and summer,
and leads up to a shrine in a cave not far from Zarnesti. Our guide
will trace the origin of this shrine back to the 1300s and explain aout
agricultural traditions and the impact of technology on local life. On
our way back we stop at the visitor centre of Piatra Craiului National
Park to find out more about the elements that make this area worth
protecting.
Day 5
Today we take a break from hiking in order to recover, and drive to
Prejmer (app. 1 h drive) to visit the fortified church in this town.
Afterwards we drive to Brasov, a 770 years old town, with beautiful
medieval buildings and historic places. We stop at the Black Church and
visit the old centre of the town. Short time free for shopping and
walking. In the evening, we drive to Poiana Brasov, one of the most
famous mountain resorts in Romania, situated at the foothill of
Postavaru mountain. We have dinner at the touristic shepherd camp,
where we serve traditional food used by the Romanian shepherds and
listen to Romanian folk music.
Day 6
We take a slow walk up Magura Hill (1200 m). Once up the ridge, we
follow it all the way to Bran village, where the famous Bran Castle
(named by Bram Stocker "Dracula's Castle") is located. We visit the
museum and village, then walk back to our guesthouse in the afternoon
to relax in the garden with a glass of home made bilberry liquor or
plum brandy.
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Profile
Reasonable level of fitness required. Accommodation in one of the
local guesthouses, in double room with en suite facilities.
Meal basis: half board included throughout. Picnic or restaurant as stated in the itinerary.
Travel is by minibus/car and horse drawn cart.
Cost: 1000 Euro
per person
Included: 9 days half-board accommodation in a double room, local
English/French-speaking guide, transfer from/to the airport, local
transportation, visit to a bear hide, special guidance by wildlife expert or Park
ranger as mentioned in the itinerary.
Single room supplement: 5 euro/day
Day 7
After breakfast we drive to Dimbul Morii, near Brasov town, from where we
start walking towards the 7 Stairs Fall (1500 m). This is a spectacular
fall (1.5-2 m wide, 150 m long, 15-40 m high walls) with 7 metal stairs
set to facilitate the access through it. Once above the fall we make a
break to enjoy the beautiful limestone landscape, then head up to
Piatra Mare cabin. After we get our hearts full of the beauty of this
area, we head back to the bus on an easy path used also by bears and
other animals living in this massif.
Day 8
We leave after breakfast to try to see big wildlife. Together with the game
warden we will walk slowly on one of the numerouse valleys teeming with
wildlife looking for bears, red deer, roe deer, foxes, wild cats, owls,
buzzards, woodpeckers etc. On the way back to the car we stop at the
foresters' lodge for a picnic and relaxation. After an early dinner in
the village, we drive to a bear hide (a facility where bears are
frequently fed) with very high chances of actually see bears feeding.
Day 9
We start on a longer guided hike in the Piatra Craiului National Park.
On the way we can see signs of wildlife, rare or endemic species of
flora and insects, and shepherd camps. If the weather allows us, we can
see the entire limestone ridge of Piatra Craiului (22 km long) which
was declared scientific reserve. For people less used to hiking, we
stop at Curmatura Cabin (1470 m) and enjoy the beautiful scenery, while
the rest of the group goes for one of the peaks (over 1800 m).
Even though today is the most challenging day, the beauty of the
landscapes makes it worthwhile.
As a reward, in the evening we will build a campfire in the backyard of
Mimi's guesthouse.
Day 10
Transfer back to the airport
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