Epic journeys
Introduction
When speaking about APUSENI, we think about archaic places, ruptured from stories and ancient times that will captivate you at first sight with the incredible green landscapes of the Apuseni Mountains and much-desired inner peace. We discover together the charm of the end-of-the-world villages and the fascinating places of unreal beauty. The unique landscapes and the wonderful caves seduce the curious person to discover this world, where the inhabitants also show a great hospitality inherited from their ancestors. The harsh life of the mountains determined the Apuseni inhabitants (called “moţi”) to keep untouched the aspects of mystical and pagan superstitious thinking and much of their traditional lifestyle.
The Apuseni Mountains have always been a legendary land that has offered eternal stories. In Apuseni, the nature feels like home, urging the traveler to exclaim all the time: “How beautiful it is!”
Whether it’s the villages full of traditions, whether it’s a hike through the natural parks that abounds with unseen flowers or birds, or an incursion into the “golden” history of the place, the visit to the galleries of the Romans gold mines, all of these make Apuseni a unique place to be and to visit.
Tour Overview
Rosia Montana
* We will drive to Rosia Montana, the place where we will spend the whole day
* Visit the Roman Gold Mines from Rosia Montana, whose gold was the major reason for wars, kings’ disputes and curses; Apuseni gold wrote a bloody history of its inhabitants.
* Next, we go up to Piatra Corbului, a natural historical Monument of Rosia Montana, a grayish-yellow rock, which took the shape of a raven in time; we admire the beautiful panorama from the top
* Visit to 3 different “tauri”, artificial lakes specific for the region of Rosia Montana, being built starting with 1733. There were more than 100 so-called tauri, of different sizes, their water being used for operating the gold dollies.
* We go back to Arieseni, a paradise where we will sleep for the next nights
* Dinner wine and good mood
Rimetea and Geamana
* After breakfast we head to Rimetea, the most beautiful village in Transylvania and Romania. Rimetea (Torockó) is the only Romanian village with the Europa Nostra Award of the European Commission for the Conservation of Material Cultural Heritage. We admire the fabulous landscapes of the Trasca Mountains and immortalize the moment.
* We visit the Ethnography Museum in Rimetea, a unique museum collection
* We serve lunch in a surprise location, where old traditional recipes are revived
* Afterwards we go to Geamana, a village covered almost entirely by the waste from the Roşia Poieni copper mine. The unreal landscape and the stories of our guide will fascinate you.
* Our last visit is at Pisoaia Waterfall, one of our favorite waterfalls in Romania. Pisoaia Falls is a splendid waterfall of over 18 meters high across the road from the Snail Hill. It is a landscaping reservation, located on a rocky limestone threshold, surrounded by a conifer-hardwood forest. Close to Pisoaia Falls is the Snail Hill. A reservation of petrified snails of various shapes and sizes, stone shells of snails that lived in these places long time ago, at the time when the Apuseni area was a great sea called the Tetis Sea.
* Dinner at the guesthouse with delicious meal, wine and a big campfire
Detunata Goala Trekking and traditional costumes
* 3 h trekking tour to the one of the most wonderful peaks of Apuseni: Detunata Goala, 1169 m altitude, formed of basalt columns of 75 m high
* Lunch in a traditional household
* Surprise of the day: we will wear the traditional popular costumes of the Apuseni region and we will have a photo session in a very natural and beautiful environment
* Dinner at the guesthouse with traditional menu
Bears’ Cave and Rusty Pit
* We go to Pestera Ursilor (Bears’ Cave), the most spectacular cave in Romania and the paradise of karst forms that hosts the bones of cavern bears
* A short stop at the Horea and Aurel Flutur Etnographic Museum, a family museum that hosts more than 2000 old objects from the village history over the years
* Lunch in a traditional family household
* The last visit of the day is Groapa Ruginoasa, a large ravine of 1 km width and 100 m level difference; a very wild and picturesque landscape
Discover Apuseni
* First stop is in Vartop at the Glacier Cave. In this cave were discovered 3 footprints of Neanderthal. Unfortunately, these are no longer found in the cave. One was lost, another was stolen and the last one was taken to the Speleology Institute in Cluj-Napoca.
* Next is Petrehaitesti Waterfall, a 2-steps waterfall of more than 14 m; the route is easy and lasts about 1h in both ways
* When returning from the waterfall, the road takes us to the Rovin family home. Here we meet Paraschiva and Filip, two craftsmen, whose work is based on wooden objects as well as carpets, and other popular and traditional craftwork
* Traditional Transylvanian Lunch served in their household
* We have the last surprise of the day at the Patrahaitesti Museum. Here, the custodians of the museum, Mrs. Paraschiva will delight us with ancient songs at the horn. The tunic or the buckthorn is a symbol of moti, a name under which the population living in the Apuseni Mountains is known on the Aries Valley. In the past, there was at least one horn in each house, to which every member of the family could sing. The musical instrument was also used to announce events or calls in the villages of Apuseni region
* Dinner and red wine at the gueshouse
Caves and waterfalls tour
* First visit is at Vanatarile Ponorului Waterfall, Dalbina Waterfall with a 25m drop. The waterfall is visible from a wooden balcony belvedere. Be prepared for a spectacular view
* Next stop is at the Scarisoara Glacier Cave. The place that houses the largest underground glacier in Romania!
* Another cave with a unique feature is not far from here. The majestic, with a portal of nearly 20 meters, the Gate of Ionele Cave, gives you the impression of the solemnity of a cathedral withered in the heart of the Apuseni. The grandiose spaces, the almost perfect arc of its vaults, the hidden lake or the streams that come to light make this cave the place where the mountains reveal the secrets of the innermost
* Surprise of the day: we climb into traditional carts and follow a fairytale trail to the Varciorog Waterfall. Varciorog Waterfall is a spectacular water drop of over 15 meters high at the foot of the Piatra Graitoare Peak
* Dinner with red wine at the guesthouse
Turzii Gorge
* We say goodbye to these fairytale realms and we head to Bucharest
What is included in the price:
- 4 nights guesthouse accommodation (single and double rooms)
- 2 meals/day (breakfast and dinner at the guesthouse). We can also offer alternatives for other types of diet
- Lunch in traditional households
- All the activities presented above
- Two professional tour guides (fluent English speaker), rangers, local guides and support staff for the activities
- English guided tours for the entire period
- Pick up from any city in Romania
- Transfer from and to the hotel
- Transport with bus or mini-vans for the entire duration of the adventure – fuel included.
What is not included in the price:
- Extra accommodation nights. Optionally, depending on the flight schedule, we can arrange extra accommodation with extra costs regardless the city
- Entrance tickets to all touristic attractions
- Airport transfers
- Flight tickets (optionally we can reserve the flights)
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
- Other personal spending
- Tips
IMPORTANT NOTE:
- Sometimes, some of the places we intend to visit may be closed at that time. But don’t worry. We have prepared tourist attractions at least as interesting as the previous ones.
- We can organize this tour all year long.
- The tour can be customized depending on the number of days you have available.
