Transylvania is known for its associations with vampires, werewolves, superstition and supernatural.
Actually, this is not the fact at all. Transylvania is a land at the crossroads of civilisations,
with an unique cultural heritage and a charming natural landscape. Is not gloomy at all, but full of life and joy.
When someone is planning to visit this region in the central part of Romania, the first things appearing in search are the castles
(Bran Castle, Corvin Castle), the beautiful medieval cities (Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov) and fortified churches. But, Transylvania
is more than that.
If the visitor wants to see real Transylvania, they should walk on out of the beaten path, to explore the countryside,
to walk on trails from one village to another, to venture on the low altitude meadows or high on the mountain pastures. This will reveal to
the traveller an unspoiled image of Transylvania, with colourful compact villages, rolling hills covered with wildflowers and haystacks or sheep flocks.
Also, if you want to get to know better the soul of a region, you have to meet its people and taste its local food. Not the one from restaurants, but the one people are eating every day.
Having this in mind, we designed this multi-day trip in Transylvania countryside , trying to cover all the aspects mentioned above: nature, culture and food.
This would be used as an introduction in the Transylvanian countryside, walking through 2 neighbouring villages, but very different: a Romanian one, Rasinari, in Marginimea Sibiului, and a Saxon one - Cisnadioara, just beyond the hill. We will have the possibility to visit one of the oldest fortified churches in Transylvania and also to have lunch at one of the guesthouses in the area. We will be able to see the differences between rural architecture, village layout and the geometry of the streets. We will walk through farming roads and paths through the forest and we will enjoy spectacular panoramas over both villages. We may be able to observe animal tracks in the woods, villagers at work and flocks of sheep. Depending on the day of the tour, we may go to Rasinari's Saturday market. The track is around 10 kilometres long and it has 300 meters difference in altitude.
On this tour, we will explore the heights around Biertan which are offering some of the best
views of the Transylvanian highlands.
The colourful village, with well-preserved Saxon architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located one hour from Sibiu and 30 minutes from Sighisoara.
We will use The Via Transilvanica trail, a 1,400-kilometer hiking route that traverses
Romania from north to south.
We will be able to tour Biertan's fortified church, a remarkable example of religious architecture adapted
for military defensive objectives. We'll be walking through dense woodland with a decent probability of sighting bear footprints.
The views from the heights around Biertan are probably the best ones among the tours we are proposing.
The track is around 10 kilometres long, and the difference in altitude is around 300 meters.
For this walk we take you to the village of Hosman, not far from Sibiu.
The village can be proud of one of the most beautiful scenery in Transylvania,
the image of the fortified church with the Carpathian mountains in the background becoming iconic (see the gallery
here)
The hike starts near the fortified church and climbs gently through farming fields and meadows to the oak forest.
After crossing the forest, we will enjoy a superb panorama of the Fagaras mountains. From September to the end of May,
we have a good chance to see the ridges covered with snow.
One of the best times for this hike is June,
when the wild flowers are in full bloom. During the hike we will enjoy the bucolic landscape, with working the land,
herds of sheep, goats or cows or horse driven carts. There are good chances to see bear tracks.
The track is around 10 kilometres long, and the difference in altitude is around 300 meters
This hike will introduce us to the world of shepherds who graze their sheep in the highlands around Sibiu.
The area of mountain villages near Sibiu known as Marginimea Sibiului is famous across the country for the high quality of its cheese.
The trip begins in Rau Sadului, a community with a long pastoral culture hidden in a mountain valley near Sibiu.
We will follow the pathways used by the local shepherds to go to their flocks and huts from the top of the mountain,
and depending on the season, we may be able to meet them. They oscillate with their herds between the pastures near the
village and the high alpine pastures.
If the shepherd is available, he will prepare a special shepherd's lunch: grilled polenta balls filled with cheese cooked right at the hut.
Check here the photos taken during one of the hikes we did in 2022.
The track is around 12 kilometres long, and the difference in altitude is around 700 meters.
This trip is one of our favorites as it combines history with nature. We will explore the heights around the village of Boita,
located at the entrance of the Olt River in a valley that cuts through the mountains to the south.
An old border settlement, the village witnessed important files of Transylvania's history, from the
Roman era through World War I.
In addition to the special views with Olt at the entrance to the mountains, we will be able to discover a
forgotten hamlet, hidden in the forests above the village. A long time ago, it was inhabited by several
families who were engaged in agriculture and shepherding amid the peace and quiet of the forest.
Now there is only one family that insists on living there, deprived of the benefits of the modern world.
The track is around 9 kilometres long, and the difference in altitude is around 400 meters.
Here you can see some pictures taken during our previous hikes.
here the photo gallery.
This walk will take us to Jina, the last of the 17 villages of Marginimea Sibiului.
The settlement, like Rome, is located at an elevation of 1000 meters and spreads across seven hills.
Is one of the last villages from the area where some of the inhabitants are still moving with their
livestock higher up in the mountains to the summer hamlets, where they dwell from June to September.
During our walk, we will enjoy the picturesque views of the village and we will see some of the summer hamlets and the pastures filled with flowers or hay, depending on the season.
At the end of the walking, we will be able to visit the Shepherding Museum and enjoy a shepherd-style lunch in the village.
The track is around 10 kilometres long, and the difference in altitude is around 300 meters.
Here you can see some pictures taken during our previous hikes.
Group size | | Price/person/day (EUR) | | Price per group/day (EUR) | |
1 | 130 | 130 | |
2 | 70 | 140 | |
3 | 50 | 150 | |
4 | 45 | 180 | |
5 | 45 | 225 | |
6 | 40 | 240 | |
7 | 35 | 245 | |
8 | 35 | 280 |