Link Romania Transylvanian Trek 2010 - July
Some of us have only just recovered from last years Carpathian Challenge where 15 of us walked 120km and raised £35k for our projects. It was amazing and heres an extract from our latest Newslink
"Well we did it! We managed to climb up mountains, cross raging rivers, get chased by cows, mugged by a herd of goats, survived Romanian 90% home brew, got frozen to the core, hailed at and got rained on more times than I care to remember—oh and walked 120 kilometres. All this for Link Romania.
It was brillliant—our ages ranged from 31 to 71 years with various levels of fi tness and experience but led by our intrepid Romania trek leader Doru we managed to get through it.
And the best part of all—we raised £35,000 for the projects. This is way above anything we could have imagined when we started to think about doing a trek and we all want to say a big thank you to everyone that sponsored us to make that tremendous figure possible.
It wasn’t the easiest trek in the world and we were struck down by sickness, tiredness and a general lack of the will to live but we also had some brilliant experiences, met some lovely people and of course at the end the trekkers got to see what their hard work had all been for. On the last day we travelled to Iasi to visit the Farm of Hope and ‘Dallas’
shanty town. Everyone was very moved by what they saw and said it had been the best part of the trip, actually seeing where the money was going and meeting the people that it helped
So rather than being diagnosed as being clinically insane we have decided to do it all again..........and this time its going to be even harder!"
Day 1
Arrive Bucharest . Dependent upon the arrival time of the designated group flight there will be time to visit the Peoples Palace Parliament building in downtown Bucharest. You then travel by road across the plains and then beneath the Bucegi Mountains into the Prahova valley and onwards to the small town of Zarnesti. Journey time approx. 3 hours.
Pension Elena, Zarnesti
Included meals: Dinner
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Day 2
It’s now time to discover rural Transylvania and a delightful walk through a bucolic landscape to “Castle Dracula” at Bran. Initially ascending steadily via a short climb you reach the charming village of Magura. This small village stretches out along a broad ridge, with fine views of Piatra Craiului and the even higher Bucegi Mountains on the far horizon. You’ll then continue to ascend steadily from Magura, rising above a rocky limestone outcrop, where the views get even better looking over a broad valley, better known as the “Rucar-Bran corridor” to Omu, the highest point in the Bucegi at just over 2500m. The walk then undulates until you begin to descend to Bran, passing remote, isolated farmsteads along the way. Reaching Bran it’s time to visit “Castle Dracula”. This fortress is perched impressively atop a hill some 200m above Bran itself and was of great importance as it is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. Of course Bram Stokers vampire was fictional, and it was never the home of the ‘real’ .JPG)
Dracula, Vlad Tepes “The Impaler” either, but it is the closest real life thing in Romania to the Hollywood ideal of what Dracula’s Castle should be. The name “Castle Dracula” has stuck and as this is Transylvania, land of myths and legends, so Bran Castle has become one of the most famous and visited landmarks in Romania as a result. You could say that at dusk it does have an eerie presence and the guided tour of the castle remains worthwhile, vampire home or not. After your visit you’ll transfer back to Zarnesti. Walking time approx. 6 hours.
Pension Elena, Zarnesti
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3
Leaving Zarnesti the principle objective, the high peaks of the Fagaras Mountains soon come into view as you travel by road across level plains before turning left to be driven up the improbable Transfagarasan Highway.
The road climbs to 2000m and the pretty glacial lake of Balea Lac. Here you’ll then make a circuit walk up through a high mountain valley onto the main ridge of the Fagaras. You’ll then descend to your Mountain Chalet accommodation for dinner. Walking time approx. 4-5 hours.
Mountain Chalet, Balea Lac
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4
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Your main baggage will be transferred after breakfast to Zarnesti. In the company of your guides your traverse of the ridges and summits of the mighty Fagaras begins in earnest. You begin by ascending steadily to acquire the main ridge past the ‘Dragon’s Window’ and Goat Lake. Once on the ridge, you’ll see for just how spectacular the Fagaras Mountains are, with a continuous sharp ridge extending some 75km in total, soaring dramatically above the plains below. A stimulating trail leads along the Albota-Arpasel ridge, in dramatic fashion. Sometimes you’re on the ridge itself, other times you’re traversing just below the ridge in classic ‘up, down’ fashion. This wonderful, prolonged period is ridge walking at it’s very best. Arriving at a small col not much below Mircii (2467m), you then begin to descend as the trail zig zags it’s way down to Cabana Podragu (2135m), where you spend the night. Walking time approx 8-9 hours.
Mountain Hut, Podragu.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5
The dawn light high up in this wild mountain landscape can be truly enchanting. After .JPG)
breakfast you leave Podragu behind and climb to Saua Podraglui (2305m). Back on the main ridge once more you continue to Tarata. Walking on and off the ridge for a further hour leads to Saua Orzanelei and from here you will ascend to the summit of Varful Moldoveanu.
The route to the summit is quite steep and involves a small amount of easy scrambling, but once on the summit of the highest mountain in Romania, a clear weather day will reward your efforts with a truly sublime 360º panorama of the entire jagged Fagaras Mountains, as well as over to the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului ranges, the plains below and across to the Transylvanian city of Sibiu. After the obligatory photo’s it’s time to descend back down to Vistea Mare. The trail then descends more sharply towards the ‘Bears Den’, before easing off (with the odd sharp ascent thrown in) as you walk steadily down into the Sambata Valley. Reaching the Cabana Sambata (1390m), the bulk of the hard work is over, so perhaps a small celebration is in order tonight in the Sambata Hut. The local’s favourite is ‘Tuica’, a plum brandy, usually homemade. Walking time approx. 9 -11 hours.
Mountain Hut, Sambata Valley
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6
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It’s now time to head down and out of the Fagaras Mountains. It’s a steady descent of around 4-5 hours walking to Sambata. Here you have the option of visiting what is one of the wealthiest monasteries in Romania, the sumptuous 17th Century Brancoveanu Monastery, which was destroyed by the Hapsburgs and then fully restored during the 20th Century. In the village of Sambata your bus will be waiting to drive you the 90 minute journey to Zarnesti, where a warm welcome from your hosts Gigi and Elena, hot showers and great food await.
Pension Elena, Zarnesti
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7
You now leave Zarnesti to head to the far North of Romania and the city of Iasi by road.
Hotel, Iasi
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 8
Today you will be visiting Link Romania’s projects in and around Iasi. In the early evening you will then travel by bus for around 3 hours back towards Bucharest, stopping off at a Pension along the way to rest up for the night.
Pension, location tba
Included meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 9
Your journey continues by road back to Bucharest Airport for your return flight back to the UK.
Included Meals: Breakfast
The cost of the trek is around £850 (excluding flights). We do hope to use a budget airline to fly into Bucharest however. If you think you would be interested in hearing more about it please contact lisahector [at] linkromania [dot] co [dot] uk
