Castles and villages of the Carpathian Mountains - 4 Mountains in 7 days

Description Castles and villages of the Carpathian Mountains - 4 Mountains in 7 days

4 Mountains in 7 days: Piatra Mare (Big Stone) Mountain, Piatra Craiului National Park (King's Stone), Bucegi Natural Park and Postavaru Mountain

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Rates:

• 2 persons: 799 euro/person
• 4 persons: 699 euro/person

The package includes:

• transfers and transportation by car, luggage transfer
• accommodation in double room standard with breakfast, at 3* guesthouses; 2 dinners at the local guesthouse in Magura village
• route notes and maps; guided tour Brasov by night; 24/7 emergency hotline

Not included:

• flight tickets; lunch (can be provided at the places of accommodation) and 5 dinners; drinks; entrance fees; lift tickets; personal expenses; insurance; tips
• entrance fees for "7 Ladders Canyon" (4 euro/pax) and Piatra Craiului National Park (2.5 euro/pax), Bucegi Natural Park (4 euro/pax)
• upgrade at 3* to 5* hotels in Brasov located in the old city center (eg. Bella Muzica, Safrano Palace, Casa Chitic, Schuster Boarding House, Radisson Blu Aurum, subject of availability)

Notes: Best travel time: June-October. Well-marked trails, part of the Carpathian hiking network. Changing weather in summer, requiring good rain gear just in case. Note that walking in the national parks of Romania means you may come across wild animals, including Brown Bears. To avoid unexpected meetings, try to speak louder with your travel mates when hiking in some of the most dense forests.
Group Size: Min. 2 persons
 

Solowalks program

Explore 4 mountains in 7 days in the magnificent Carpathian mountains range!

4 Mountains in 7 days

Piatra Mare (Big Stone) Mountain, Piatra Craiului National Park (King's Stone), Bucegi Natural Park and Postavaru Mountain

DESCRIPTION & FEATURES OF THE TREKKING TOUR

Tour highlights:

♦  Piatra Craiului National Park - with its narrow and saw-like ridge the mountains are considered to be one of the most beautiful in Carpathian mountains range

♦ Bucegi Natural Park is Romania's best-kept secret, rivalling Slovakia's Tatra Mountains and the Alps when it comes to trekking. Their glacial valleys, canyons and caves offer a wealth of natural beauty, history and adventure.

♦ Brasov - Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 on an ancient Dacian site and settled by the Saxons as one of the seven walled citadels, Brasov exudes a distinct medieval ambiance and has been used as backdrop in many recent period films. Stroll around the old Town Hall Square (Piata Sfatului) where you can admire colorfully painted and ornately trimmed baroque structures. Take a peek inside the Black Church (Biserica Neagra), the largest gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul. The interior is impressive and well-kept and houses one of the largest organs in Eastern Europe.

♦ Bran Castle is no doubt one of the milestones when traveling in Transylvania. Towers, narrow corridors, hidden premises - the castle offers many interesting facts and stories, mysterious enough to incite the legend lovers.

Day 1: Meet up at Bucharest Airport (or in your hotel in Bucharest) for a private transfer to Brasov, where you will stay overnight. Tour briefing. (2:30-3:00hrs drive).

Day 2: Breakfast. Transfer Brasov – to starting point of first trekking day: Piatra Mare Mountain (10 km). You start the trekking tour to the top of the mountain on yellow stripe sign (2 – 3 hours to the Chalet Piatra Mare – 1628 m) trekking through "7 Ladders canyon". This route is a medium one with narrow path, sometimes steep. Optional: hike to the top of the mountain (1843 m), from the Chalet, round trip about 2 hours.You go down on the red stripe sign (about 2 hours).  This route is an easy to medium one. "The Seven Ladders Canyon" it is one of the main attractions for the tourists hiking the rocky paths of the Piatra Mare (Big Rock) mountain. Transfer to Brasov. (7-8 hours, medium to hard effort, uphill/downhill walk: 800 m/800 m, appr. 16 km).

Day 3: Breakfast. Transfer Brasov – Bran town (30 km). Second day of trekking: Piatra Craiului National Park – Magura village - an authentic and cozy mountain village. You start the trekking tour from Bran, on the red stripe sign on the main route which links Bucegi Mountains to the Piatra Craiului National Park. The route is easy to medium, through forest and meadows, with great views to both mountains and to the Bran area with its mountain villages. In about 2 hours you see the Magura mountain village. At one moment the path goes down directly to the main road of Magura village, you walk about 2 km and you reach to a junction. Here you turn to the left and after 300 m you see the guesthouse (4-5 hours, medium effort, uphill/downhill walk: 400 m/400 m, appr. 8 km). Accommodation at a village guesthouse in Magura Village, depending of the availability!
P.S. This is a relatively short day, when you can fit the sightseeing of Bran Castle just before starting the walk.

Day 4: Breakfast. The heart of Piatra Craiului National Park - Pestera Village – Curmatura chalet (1470 m) - Magura village. From the guesthouse you continue the trek to the next mountain village Pestera, about 2 km. You reach to a junction and from here you turn to the right and continue the trekking tour on the red cross sign, about 1 – 1 ½ hour, to the "La table" point (this is a cross point where 8 trekking routes meet). From here you follow the same sign, red cross, follow nice and large meadows, hardwood and pine forest to the bottom of the Piatra Craiului Mountain ("Rock of the King" or "King's Stone") for about 30 minutes. The road now is a forest one. You reach to a junction in about 30 minutes, you turn to the left and follow the forest road that climbs into the forest. After 20 minutes with no signs, you see 2 signs, red and yellow triangle which go to the Curmatura chalet (about 1 hour). So, from the guesthouse to Curmatura chalet you supposed to walk between 3 and 4 hours on a medium route. You can have lunch to the chalet and than you continue the trek to Zarnesti town, the main gate to the National Park, following the yellow dot (2 hours of descending – easy). At some point you reach to a small metal bridge (on your right), you cross the spring and walk up about 30  minutes to the guesthouse in Magura village. (6-7 hours, medium effort, uphill/downhill walk: 500 m/ 700 m, appr. 16 km).

Day 5: Breakfast. Transfer from the pension to the starting point of the trekking tour in Bucegi Natural Park (about 45 minutes of driving). You follow the yellow triangle sign, on a wide forest road, for about 1 – 1 ½ hour. After that you cross a small river and start to climb a steep part, with forest, for about 20 minutes, and you reach in a nice meadow. Stop for a rest and than continue the route, now much easier, till in a big meadow with a former sheep farm on the right side. Optional: from this point in about 1 hour, round trip, you can visit, following the red cross sign, the “Devil mill waterfall”. Back in the meadow you follow the metal poles with blue triangle sign, crossing the meadow from left to the right, in diagonal, uphill. You go mainly up from here and in about 1 hour you reach to a forest road and than to a sheep farm. You can make a stop and taste the cheese made here (from June to September) for an small extra cost or cigarettes. From the sheep farm you follow the red triangle sign from the rocks or metal poles. At some point, after 1 km from the sheep farm, you see a big rock with the sign on it. You follow the sign, pass nearby a former Hunting house, now in ruin, and in about 1-1 ½ hours you reach to the main forest road, for the meeting point. Transfer to Brasov for accommodation - about 1 hour of driving. (5-7 hours, medium effort, uphill/downhill walk: 800 m/ 800 m, appr. 14 km).

Day 6: Breakfast. You deserve a resting day today for leisure. Hike on the Tampa mountain (960 m). The view from the summit is spectacular, offering a panoramic view of the city. The route is easy, you can take the cable car to the top and go down by foot (round trip about 2 hours). Optional Brasov walking tour by night with guide.

Day 7: Breakfast. Transfer to Poiana Brasov resort – the main ski resort in Romania (12 km). Trekking in Postavaru Mountain. You will trek to the Postavaru Mountain, from Poiana Brasov ski resort (1200 m) to the highest peak (1799 m). It is not very high, thus not as spectacular as other mountains in the Carpathians, but it has some good ski slopes and beautiful scenery. The route is easy to medium. You can take the cable car and go down by foot (about 2 hours).Transfer Poiana Brasov – Brasov. Accommodation. (4-5 hours, medium, uphill/downhill walk: 700 m/700 m, appr. 10 km).

Day 8: Breakfast. Transfer to the airport.

Details about trekking tour:

- optimal time: June - October

- transportation - car or minibus

- mountain tour requires a good physical shape, with resistance to medium effort but for long duration

- "7 Ladders Canyon" is closed Monday and because of weather conditions (thunderstorms, heavy rains).

- accommodation in Brasov is done at 3* guesthouses located at 10 - 20 minutes walking distance from the old city center; 15-20 euro/night/person for accommodation to a 3* hotel located nearby or in the old city center.

See required equipment for adventure

See Classification of the trekking and hiking tours

Map of visited POI's:

View route