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The leading specialists in cultural walking
tours
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We specialise in guided cultural walking
holidays with music festivals, opera, art & architecture,
birdwatching, wildlife and gourmet food & wine.
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Walking in Rural Romania ~
The Painted Monasteries & Transylvania
The mountains of Transylvania and the
deep forests which surround the Orthodox painted monasteries
very largely escaped the ravages of the Ceausescu era. Remote
and tranquil, these areas offer walkers an experience now quite
lost in western Europe - exploring on foot a landscape
unchanged since the Middle Ages. In early summer the mountain
meadows of Maramures are filled with wildflowers (including
swathes of orchids) and horses and carts are carrying hay from
first light.
Based in village farmhouses and modest
hotels in the countryside, we eat traditional farm cooking
(organic by definition) accompanied by wines from the Black Sea
and home distilled fruit brandies; visit some of the greatest
examples of mediaeval Byzantine art; travel by steam train in
Maramures; and explore the galleries and museums of the
capital, Bucharest, staying in a 4 star boutique hotel.
TRIP ITINERARY
DAY 1
D included
After an early afternoon arrival at
Bucharest’s Otopeni airport we drive north into the
Bucegi mountains and settle into our 3 star hotel in Sinaia,
built in the 19C in Transylvanian Gothic style. A walk before
dinner introduces us to the palaces and grand villas of this
mountain resort, which was once a magnet for royalty and
Bucharest society. At dinner we have our first taste of ciorba, typically
Romanian thick meat and vegetable soups with sour cream.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
We visit Peles castle and its formal
garden, built for Romania’s Hohenzellern King Carol I and
richly decorated in eclectic style, then walk up through thick
forest, on a cobbled track, to a viewpoint and alpine meadows.
After visiting the evocative home of Romania's greatest
composer and musician, George Enescu, we drive to the town of
Brasov and see the Biserica Neagra (Black Church).
Surprisingly, it is adorned with a superb collection of Persian
carpets, brought back from the east over the centuries by
wealthy merchants. We dine in a restaurant in the mediaeval
town centre, then board the night sleeper (in 2 person first
class compartments) for the journey north to Sighetu Marmateie,
right on the Ukraine border.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
Alighting from the train at 8 am we have
a traditional farm breakfast before visiting the famous
‘Merry Cemetery’ and the ethnographical museum,
which serves as an introduction to Maramures, the northern
region of Transylvania where traditional culture has survived
to an astonishing degree. We drive deep into the countryside to
the village which will be our home for the next three nights
and settle into the farmhouses - unpretentious (sometimes
sharing bathroom facilities) but warmly welcoming and serving
genuine home cooking for our dinners together each evening. A
late afternoon walk takes us up and over a low ridge to visit
one of the wooden churches for which Maramures is noted
(complete with alarmingly vivid depictions of hell!).
DAY 4
B, L, D included
A full day’s walk (carrying our
lunch as we are far from the few unpaved roads) takes us up
through hay meadows where tall ‘stooks’ are being
piled up with pitchforks, and up over rolling hills to ridges
with far-reaching views. The wildflowers are a delight, honey
buzzards, hoopoes and cuckoos may well be seen and our walk
ends in a nearby village, also predominantly built of wood and
with a frescoed church, reputedly the oldest in Maramures.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
A steady, steepish climb, crushing lemon
thyme beneath our feet, brings us up onto a fine ridge and a
day's circular walk through a landscape unchanged over
centuries. Following a cart track back into the village in the
late afternoon we will constantly be passed by horses and carts
returning home from the meadows, heavily loaded with hay or
logs. Those interested can visit a village weavers which uses
local wool and flax and vegetable dyes from plants such as
snowdrops, to produce traditional garments. With luck, we may
also be entertained by village musicians - and palinka and afinato (home-distilled
plum and blueberry brandy) will flow...
DAY 6
B, L, D included
An early start has us driving east into
the Rodna mountains and boarding a small steam train (with some
rather eccentric carriages) which follows a logging track up
into the forest. We alight and continue on foot up a woodland
path which leads onto mountain meadows with extensive views. We
picnic, then slowly descend through meadows and forest to meet
our transport and continue to our nearby modest, modern hotel
(where Balkan-influenced puddings are a feature of the menu).
DAY 7
B, L, D included
A chairlift takes us up above the tree
line and onto an open alpine plateau grazed by herds of horses
and foals. Walking northeast, we cross the Prislop pass (1,416
m) where a monument marks where the last Tatar raid was
repelled in 1717, then rejoin our vehicle to drive to Campulung
and visit the Museum of Wooden Art. Continuing to Moldovita we
encounter our first UNESCO listed painted monastery.
Constructed at a time when Moldavia was under constant threat
of Turkish invasion, the frescoes of Moldovita depict a
particularly exuberant Liberation of Constantinople. Our villa
for the next 2 nights is comfortably furnished, with a pretty
garden and we dine in a nearby restaurant well-known for
Moldavian specialities such as wild mushroom dishes or mamaliga (polenta
with slightly sour cream and crumbly sheeps cheese).
DAY 8
B, L, D included
Today’s walk follows an undulating
path through mixed beech and pine forest and links two of the
great mediaeval monasteries. We begin with a visit to Sucevita,
a classic example of a heavily fortified monastery where
illiterate soldiers and peasants (forbidden to enter the
church) were educated by the biblical scenes depicted on the
external frescoes. We picnic in a forest glade en route to
Putna monastery - founded, according to legend, by King Stefan
Cel Mare who fired 3 arrows in the air to mark the respective
positions of the holy well, the altar and the bell tower.
DAY 9
B, L, D included
A cross country walk this morning takes
us up through flower-filled meadows and forests, where small
boys are gathering baskets of ‘fraises de bois’,
then over a low col to drop down to the village of Humor. The
monastery is surrounded with wooden (rather than stone
ramparts) and has most impressive interior frescoes. A short
drive brings us to Voronet monastery, built by Stefan Cel Mare
in gratitude for successfully forcing the Turks back across the
Danube. The predominant colour used here is ‘Voronet
blue’, obtained from lapis lazuli, and the Last Judgement
fresco which covers the entire western wall is an acknowledged
masterpiece of Byzantine art. In the late afternoon we drive to
the town of Suceava, have a shower and dinner in a central
hotel, then board the night sleeper for Bucharest.
DAY 10
B, L, D included
Arriving early in the capital, we have a
leisurely breakfast in our 4 star boutique hotel
(air-conditioned, and well located in the embassy district),
before visiting the city. The award winning Museum of the
Romanian Peasant exhibits fine textiles, costumes and pottery
and the National Museum, housed in the former royal palace, has
a marvellous collection of Romanian mediaeval art and jewellery
as well as a noted European collection (including works by El
Greco & Rembrandt). After a siesta, we walk to one of the
liveliest and oldest areas of the city, rich in monuments,
where the merchant's caravanserai were clustered. Our farewell
dinner is in a fine old restaurant specialising in traditional
Romanian game dishes, including (optionally) bear and venison.
DAY 11
B, L included
We visit the Jewish Museum and then
stroll round the open-air museum of architecture, with its
lively atmosphere - a band playing, Romanians in their Sunday
best walking by the lake, stalls selling tasty snacks which we
sample for a light lunch - before transferring to the airport.
Price includes:
All accommodation for Days 1 through 11
on a double shared basis
All meals with wine (or local spirits as
available) at lunches and dinners, other than those excepted in
the daily notation
All land transportation (including two
1st class sleeper train journeys; private steam train, chair
lift rides) as described except during free periods
All entrance and sightseeing fees except
during free periods
Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff
Visa and Health Requirements
Visitors from the EU and the US currently
require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Romania.
If you are a national of any other country, please check visa
regulations with your nearest Embassy of Romania.
At present there are no specific and
compulsory health requirements for entry to Romania. Residents
of countries in the EU can only claim free (emergency) medical
treatment in Romania by presenting their European Health
Insurance Card (EHIC), which is issued in the UK by the Department of Health. You may also wish to check the advice given to
travellers by the FCO.
Insurance
It is essential, and a condition of
booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel
insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. Follow this link
for information on a policy available to UK residents.
If you are already insured or a non-UK
resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of
booking.
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Kudu Travel Limited
Teffont Manor
Teffont Ewyas
Salisbury SP3 5RJ
Phone: 01722 716167
Registered in England
No. 03854049
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