Carpathian Walking & Bears

Our family-run guesthouse, and home for the week, is in the quaint village of Magura within Piatra Craiului National Park. It is approximately 105mi (170km) from Bucharest Airport and takes around 3hr 30min to reach by road. Therefore, we highly recommend you join the group minibus transfer. Due to the late arrival of the group transfer, dinner tonight is a light snack (D).

After breakfast, we spend the day exploring the area surrounding the unique Kalibash villages of Magura and Pestera, where the houses are built along mountain ridges with deep ravines and valleys in between. We learn about the history of the settlements, which were built against the medieval invasions of Mongols, Tartars and Turks (B/L/D).

Today, after a walk into the Barza Valley, we travel the traditional way as horse-drawn carts take us on a journey. As we slowly make our way, we enjoy a spectacular view to Piatra Craiului Mountain and the dispersed settlement of Poiana Marului. We then leave the carts and hike uphill through hay meadows to a hermitage in the rocks.

This evening, we can go brown bear watching. A forester will take us to a safe hide deep in the forest. The hides are managed by the forestry commission and access is dependent on their permission, which is why it is organised and paid for locally. Not being able to get access to the hides is extremely rare (B/L/D).

In the morning, we start from the guesthouse and hike uphill across the flower meadows. Here we have splendid views over the wide landscape of small hamlets and mountains. We stay on the ridge and walk slowly downhill through beech forests to busy Bran. Bran Castle was built on the border to Wallachia, where Vlad the Impaler, Duke of Wallachia, once ruled. Vlad was a brutal tyrant and provided inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Vlad himself never went to Bran Castle, but Stoker saw an image of it and felt it was the perfect setting for his gothic tale.

In the afternoon, we are picked up and return to quiet Magura (B/L/D).

Today we hang up our hiking boots and take a bus to Brasov (approx. 1 hour), the cultural and economic heart of the region. This medieval town has been a mix of nations ever since it was founded in the 12th century. We have a guided tour before time to explore at leisure.

In the evening we taste Romanian cuisine in one of the restaurants before driving back to Magura (B).

The first highlight this morning is a hike through Zarnesti Gorge, which was formed 3m years ago by water cutting through the limestone massif of Piatra Craiului. We hike up to Curmatura Cabin at 4,820ft (1,470m), right under the walls of Piatra Craiului, which is open to hikers year-round. If weather and fitness allow, we can go further and climb Piatra Mica, the highest peak is at 5,941ft (1,811m). The return leads us over shepherd meadows and forest into the valley and finally up again to Magura (B/L/D).

We head down to the valley and visit LiBearty, the largest brown bear sanctuary in Europe. Set in oak and hazel forests, it is home to more than 100 rescued bears, many of whom suffered years in captivity as dancing bears or in circuses. From the sanctuary, we go on a gentle hike across meadows to the village of Vulcan.

This region, around Brasov, is closely related to the history of the Transylvanian Saxons, settlers who emigrated 800 years ago from the Rhine‐Moselle valleys. Their strong fortified churches have attracted international attention and some are Unesco World Heritage sites. We will be welcomed with coffee and tea in the yard of a fortified church. The churches in Transylvania were strongly fortified during the Middle Ages when the region was raided several times by Mongols and Tartars (B/L/D).

The adventure comes to an end after breakfast. Bid a fond farewell to the guesthouse, which may feel like a second home by now, and begin your return journey home (B).