Hiking and Culture Short Break Northern Romania Tour

Day 1:  Arrival – Road and Accommodation

Upon your arrival, Your Curly Guide and your bus driver will wait for you at the airport (with a traditional welcome drink ) or they can pick you up from your hotel in Cluj-Napoca or Oradea. We will travel by our bus to Borsa town where our accommodation is located at a family-run guesthouse or pension, with rooms having outstanding views of the mountains. At dinner, we will organize a BBQ and a campfire where the Curly Guide will inform you about the activities of the next days and the rules of the national park.

Day 2: Hiking Day – Pietrosul Rodnei Peak

The most famous and tallest peak in the area, Pietrosul Rodnei,  has a height of 2303 meters and gives an open view of the surrounding mountains and valleys as it is the first landform in the chain.
We wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning. After having breakfast, around 8 o’clock we’ll start hiking. The hike is totally manageable for anyone until reaching the Meteorological Weather Station located at about 2000m. This part of the road has a length of about 4.5 kilometers and an altitude gain of 800 meters. It should take  2 hours to do. Our first long stop will be at Glacier Lake, where we will have a picnic and we will rest on our feet.
We will continue to Pietrosu Peak. The path to the peak is constantly zig-zags until the top witch makes it challenging but accessible. The final ascent is made on rock-carved stairs that make it even easier. We will enjoy the view and have a well-earned rest after which we will start descending on the same path in order to reach our accommodation. The hosts will wait for us with a Romanian traditional dinner.

Day 3: Vaser Valley Railway MOCANITA

We wake up at 8 am, we will have breakfast. Afterward, we will start our journey by minibus to Viseul de Sus. The trip takes 30 min. At 9 am we will take the Mocanita steam train.
Vişeu de Sus           departure     09:00
Paltin (km 21.6)  Arrival approx.   11:00
Vişeu de Sus      Arrival approx.  15:30
Paltin Station is the turning point for the regular steam trains. During a longer stop (1-2 hours), passengers can make use of the catering service provided by the CFF team. Plenty of covered and open-air seating is available. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, we will return to Borsa. The hosts will wait for us with traditional Romanian food. We will eat and spend a nice time together.

Day 4: Hiking Day – The largest Waterfall in Romania and Stiol Lake

We wake up at 9 am and after having breakfast we will go by minibus to the chairlift in Borsa. The chairlift will take us up close to the Horses Waterfall. After a 30 minute hike, we reach this beautiful waterfall. The waterfall is 90 meters high. The water gathers in something similar to a pool on top of the mountain and from there it falls on the limestone mountainside, known as Horses Bridge, and falls in several stages making it the biggest waterfall in Romania. After enjoying the Horses Waterfall, we will continue our hiking on an easy route to Lake Stiol.In the evening we will eat at a traditional restaurant in Borsa, Maramures.

Day 5: Horseback Riding Day

Breakfast starts at 8 am. On the last day of the tour, we will travel to Budesti village. Budesti is home to one of the wooden churches on the UNESCO World Heritage list where we will see the chain mail and helmet that belonged to Pintea Viteazul, a true ”Robin Hood” from Maramures. In Budesti we will have an initiation horseback riding tour 🙂 followed by a delicious traditional Romanian lunch and a meeting with the locals.
After all these days of adventure, we will talk about the wonderful places we’ve been, about the next adventures which we plan and we will leave the Natural Park with a smile on our face and with a story that your future nephew wants to hear about it. Your Curly Guide and your bus driver will take you back to your accommodation or airport in Cluj Napoca or Oradea.