Carpathian Walking & Bears

Begin your adventure at the family-run guesthouse, Villa Hermani, 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. After arrival, your tour leader ensures a big Romanian welcome with a welcome dinner. Want more time in Bucharest? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

After breakfast, we usually gather as a group for a welcome briefing to learn more about the adventures ahead. Our hike this morning starts from the guesthouse. Our route takes us uphill across the flower meadows, enjoying splendid views over the wide landscape of small hamlets and mountains. We stay on the ridge and walk slowly downhill through beech forests to the busy commune of Bran. The main attraction here is Bran Castle, which 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. Stoker never actually visited Bran Castle, but saw an image of it and felt it was the perfect setting for his gothic tale. Explore the medieval castle if you wish (ticket not included), learning the myths and legends that surround this imposing fort. In the afternoon, we are picked up and return to quiet Magura.

Strap on your hiking boots to explore the tranquil scenery around our home for the week. Between gentle meadows and scattered farmsteads, our path leads through a landscape where life still moves with the seasons – hay harvests in summer, grazing animals on the pastures. We pass a simple orthodox church and the small village school, where only a few children are taught. Among traditional wooden houses and rustic barns, we see new buildings and older ones adapted to modern needs. This evening offers a special adventure: watching wild brown bears in their natural habitat. A forester takes us to a safe hide deep in the forest. These 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.

Hike to the shepherd village of Sirnea today. Our route takes us past farmhouses, over natural hiking trails, across meadows and through forest. All the houses are built along mountain ridges with deep ravines and valleys in between. Many of the alpine meadows are used as valuable grazing land. Early in summer, livestock is driven up to graze there until late summer or autumn. Cheese is also produced in the alpine pastures. The shepherds live all summer long along bears and wolves. Therefore, fierce shepherd dogs guard the flocks – we must be cautious! For lunch, we have a delicious shepherd’s meal in the meadows with splendid scenery to enjoy. In the afternoon, we head back to Magura.

Rest your hiking boots today and take a combination of old-fashioned train and electric bus to Brasov (approximately a one-hour ride), the cultural and economic heart of the region. The city, with a medieval heart, has been a mix of nations since it was founded in the 12th century. Enjoy a guided tour and time to explore the cultural highlights of the centre at leisure. Late afternoon, we taste Romanian cuisine in a traditional restaurant before taking the train back to Magura. Please note: Potential delays in train services can be expected in summer. The last train back to Magura is normally around 8.20pm.

Head down to the valley by minibus 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 well-fortified churches have attracted international attention and some are World Heritage sites. At a fortified Lutheran church, we are welcomed with coffee, tea and cake in the yard, while we also learn about the history of the church.

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.