Mysterious and beautiful romania
There's plenty to see and do in the land of Dracula
- Published: 2/05/2010 at 04:05 AM
- Online news: Travel Scoop
Romania's singular beauty, beguiling simplicity and fascinating history remain untouched despite its swift, post-EU membership transformations. Hand-ploughed fields, cone-shaped haystacks, sheep stampedes down country roads and not-quite-legal but not-quite-illegal home-made plum-brandy distilling sheds endure. The boomerang-shaped Carpathian Mountains offer exceptional and relatively uncrowded hiking, biking and skiing options.
Towns like Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara are time-warp strolling grounds for fans of Gothic architecture and Austro-Hungarian legacy; bucolic and wooden Maramures has the ``merry cemetery''; Southern Bucovina the Unesco-listed painted monasteries; and, for the record, big cities like Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara are a blast too.
TRANSYLVANIA
Transylvania, part of Romania since only 1918, conjures waves of imagery _ mind-bending mountains, Gothic castles, fortified churches, dusty peasant villages, spooky moonlight and a roll-call of bloodthirsty, shape-shifting creatures with wicked overbites.
Transylvania is all those things and more. The boomerang-shaped Carpathian Mountains (sometimes called the Transylvanian Alps) are indeed spectacular. Outdoor enthusiasts can choose from the underground rivers of the Apuseni, rock climbing at Piatra Craiului National Park, biking atop the flat Bucegi plateau, exploring the largely unknown Retezat or hiking the Fagaras. The skiing scene, particularly in the Bucegi Mountains' Prahova Valley, has recently enjoyed across-the-board funding. The well-beaten paths up to Bran and Peles Castles are worth the crowd-rage. And, while Dracula's face will stare back at you from coffee mugs and T-shirts, the fictitious character is only a small part of what's on offer there.
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Ancient walls, cobblestones, singular architecture and trendy sidewalk cafes punctuate the towns of Brasov, Sighisoara and Sibiu, the latter still aglow from its 2007 tenure as an EU ``Cultural Capital''. The booming student town Cluj-Napoca has the country's most vigorous nightlife. Yet it's said that true Romania begins only when you reach the more remote villages, where two horse carts can cause a traffic jam. Many of Southern Transylvania's Saxon villages are dotted with fortified churches that date back half a millennium. An hour north, in Szekely Land, ethnic Hungarian communities are the majority. Throughout you're likely to spot many Roma villagers _ the men usually sporting black cowboy hats and the women in extravagant red dresses.
There is so much in Transylvania _ it's no surprise that it's often the only part of Romania experienced by tourists.
CASTLES, MOUNTAINS AND FANGS 10 DAYS _ BUCHAREST TO SIBIU
The classic route for travellers wanting a taste of Transylvania starts outside it at Bucharest, where most flights come in. With only 10 days, don't linger. Hire a car from the Bucharest airport or hop on a train north toward the hills, stopping in Sinaia for a couple of nights and checking out Peles Castle. From there, cable-car up into the Bucegi Mountains for hiking or biking. Drive or bus north for a couple of nights in Brasov, a surprisingly unjaded hub with a cobbled centre. Take day trips to the infamous ``Dracula Castle'' at Bran and the better one at Rasnov, with the options of skiing and hiking at Poiana Brasov.
If you have a car, spend a night in the timeless Saxon town Viscri, before continuing on for a night in Sighisoara, where the cute citadel offers B&Bs, espresso and Dracula's birthplace. Head southwest for a night or two in Sibiu, Transylvania's most culturally rich town. If you have a car (and it's summer), drive south along the winding, stunning Transfagarasan Road, which tackles the biggest of the Carpathians. South of the pass, stop in the ``real Dracula castle'' at Poienari outside Curtea de Arges before returning to Bucharest.
TOP 10 ACTIVITIES
- Hiking, biking or skiing atop the Bucegi Mountains plateau.
- Skiing Poiana Brasov, or kicking back with herbal tea in a mountaintop cabana looking over snowy Bucegi.
- Biking on trails through the off-the-radar Cindrel Mountains, south of Sibiu.
- Hiking to Padis Plateau's campsites and cabins in the Apuseni Mountains, then day tripping to glacial caves.
- Horse riding on week-long trips through Dracula's land at Bargau Valley.
- Boating through the bird-rich Danube Delta from Tulcea.
- Climbing up 1,480 steps to _ at last! _Dracula's real castle, Poienari, outside Curtea de Arges.
- Soothing your ills in Roman baths in Hercules' former spa, Baile Herculane.
- Rock-climbing Romania's most challenging walls at Piatra Craiului National Park, near Zarnesti.
- Arranging hikes from traditional villages to meet mountain shepherds in places such as Maramures' Izei Valley.
This is an edited extract from `Romania',
by Leif Patterson, et al.
Lonely Planet Publications, 2010.
For more information
visit www.lonelyplanet.com.
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