WALKING - COMPLETE

8 days from £969
June & September
Romania – Transylvanian Alps & Bucharest
Transylvania is a land of dramatic mountain scenery, idyllic rural countryside, Saxon medieval towns and villages and, of course, vampires! From
your main base in the medieval merchant town of Brasov, there are two walks in the magnificent alpine landscapes of the Fagaras and Bucegi
ranges, and a third walk in Viscri - a preserved pastoral setting unique to Romania. You also stay in Bucharest where you have a tour of Ceausescu’s
colossal House of the Republic, while Bran Castle, on the way to Brasov, lives up to the eerie, ghoulish image that Bram Stoker’s Dracula evokes.
• 3 nights bb in Bucharest • 4 nights bb in Brasov, and one dinner, in the Transylvanian Alps • Tour of Bucharest with entrance to
the Palace of Parliament • 3 contrasting guided walks • Visit to Bran Castle
PROGRAMME
Day One: Flight to Bucharest, transfer to your hotel in the centre of the city for two nights
bed and breakfast hotel accommodation. There are plenty of restaurants in downtown
Bucharest to suit all tastes and budgets. Your Tour Director will be on hand to assist.
Day TWO: Mid-morning walking tour of Bucharest. Romania’s cosmopolitan capital is
well known for its wide boulevards and fine pre-World War I buildings that gave it the
name of Little Paris. The tour will concentrate on the Old Town and the Calea Victoriei -
Bucharest’s most famous avenue which leads to the beautiful Romanian Athenaeum, the
Royal Palace and Revolution Square. Bucharest is also known for its stark Communistera
architecture, exemplified in Ceausescu’s monster House of the Republic, now known
as the Palace of Parliament. A guided tour will show you some of 1,100 rooms of the
world’s largest civilian administrative building.
Day three: Travel north through the Southern Carpathians to Brasov, stopping en route
at Bran Castle. On a rocky outcrop guarding the entrance to a mountain pass, the castle
was built by the Saxons in the late 14th century to defend Brasov from invasion by the
Turks. Inside you’ll find displays of rich Western European furniture, which Queen Marie,
granddaughter of Queen Victoria, purchased in the 1920s when the castle was used as
a royal residence. Continue to Brasov for four nights bed and breakfast with dinner in a
local restaurant this evening. (126 miles today). Arrival in Brasov will be late afternoon.
Your Tour Director will conduct a short orientation walk of Brasov before dinner.
Days four to six: In Brasov with two included walks. Brasov is a medieval town with
ornate Saxon churches and townhouses. Local legend has it that when the Pied Piper
lured away the children from Hamelin they re-emerged near Brasov’s main square, Pia'a
Sfatului, in the heart of the medieval quarter. It is one of the finest Baroque squares in
Romania. Here you can visit the 15th century Town Hall, with its quaint Trumpeter’s
Tower on top, and the Lutheran Black Church - the largest Gothic church between Vienna
and Istanbul with a 6 tonne bell and a huge organ with 4000 pipes. A great view of the
old town is afforded from Mt Tampa which can be reached by cable car or by a couple
of marked trails.
Walk 1: Viscri. Coach transfer to Mesendorf (57 miles) for the start of the walk. This
8-mile walk (270m ascent/descent) takes you over the hills and through the meadows
to Viscri. A combination of bulldozing by the Ceausescu regime and the exodus of
the German-speaking population after the fall of Communism threatened to wipe out
the centuries-old Saxon rural heritage in Transylvania. With the help of benefactors,
including Prince Charles, restoration and preservation schemes have helped save many
villages and Viscri is the most famous example. Barns, cottages, cattle troughs etc. have
been repaired and rustic skills re-introduced. After the walk you have an included lunch
in a local house, time to explore the village and have a tour of Viscri’s UNESCO-listed
fortified church. Under continuous threat of marauding Mongols and Turks, the Saxons
not only fortified their towns, but the villages as well with defensive works centred
around the church.
Walk 2: Transfer by coach to the Balea waterfall. The transfer takes 2 ¼ hours which
is much longer than we would normally undertake. But not only is the drive worth it, it’s
part of the day’s experience as it takes you on the northern part of the Transfagarasan -
voted Top Gear’s ‘best road in the world’. The really serious bends are after the waterfall,
but you see them in all their glory from the cable car which takes you to Lake Balea at
6,780ft and the start of the walk to climb up to the main ridge of the Fagaras Mountain.
The narrow path is mostly uneven, on rocky terrain, with steep sides. On the ridge, there
are panoramic views over the glacial valleys and lakes wherever you look. You continue
along the ridge and then descend back to the Lake from the opposite side on similar
terrain. (2 ½ miles with ascent/descent of 480m).
During your stay in Brasov there will also be an optional half day excursion to the nearby
fortified churches of Harman and Prejmer.
Day SEVEN: Return to Bucharest. Twenty four miles south of Brasov is the small
mountain resort of Busteni where you start your third walk.
Walk 3: The Bucegi Mountains (5 miles with ascent of 150m and descent of 300m).
This part of the Prahova Valley gained popularity as a tourist destination at the end of
the 19th century when King Carol I established royal residences in the area. You take the
cable car from Busteni to the Babele station (7,350ft) passing the giant WWI memorial
cross on Mt Caraiman. Babele is famous for its curiously shaped rock formations. With
spectacular views across the valley, your walk takes you south to the Cota 2000 station
where you take the cable car down to Sinaia and re-join your coach for the onward
journey to Bucharest (90 miles) for your last night on a bed and breakfast basis.
Day EIGHT: Free time until your departure for the airport and your flight home.
YOUR HOTELS
Bucharest. Depending on dates, we use the following centrally located hotels in Bucharest (see
the Dates, Prices and Flight Information booklet). Rooms in all hotels have free wireless Internet,
air-conditioning, and bathroom equipped with bath/shower, and hairdryer.
HOTEL CAPITOL HHHH (www.hotelcapitol.ro/en)
The hotel has a bar and restaurant which is popular with the locals and hotel guests.
Hotel Berthelot HHHH (hotelberthelot.ro/en)
The hotel has a bar and the hotel’s Bel Canto restaurant occasionally has live music in the evenings.
Hotel Golden Tulip HHHH (www.goldentulipbucharest.com)
The hotel has a bar on the Calea Victoriei, restaurant and fitness room.
Brasov. In Brasov we use the following hotels, both situated a 15-minute walk from the Council
Square.
Hotel Belfort HHH (www.belfort.ro)
Completely renovated in 2017, this modern hotel is at the foot of the Tampa forest park yet only
a 5-minute walk to the main pedestrian shopping street. The hotel has a bar and lounge Rooms
have a balcony, tv, wifi, direct dial telephone, bath or shower, and hairdryer.
HOTEL COROANA BRASOVULUI HHH (www.coroana-brasovului.ro)
This small, friendly and modern hotel is in a quiet position on a pretty square near the Schei Gate. The
hotel has a pleasant breakfast room and cosy English bar. Rooms have tv, wifi, direct dial telephone,
shower and hairdryer.
Dinner at a local restaurant is included on the first night in Brasov.
If you have friends who are not walkers interested in this itinerary, it is
featured in our Escorted Holidays brochure with a touring programme.
Please refer to the enclosed ‘Dates and Flight Information’ for details of departure dates, prices and flights.
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