The hiking tour of Transylvania from Cluj-Napoca

We will pick you up in the morning from the airport in Cluj-Napoca and depending on your arrival time we can have a walking tour in the historical part of the city and a visit to Turda Salt Mine.

Turda Salt Mine is the best example of the conversion of a mine into an amusement park. The Turda salt mine is unique in the world for its cone-shaped and trapeze-shaped excavation areas, which were customary in the 17th – 18th century. The mine was opened during the Middle Ages, and it was first mentioned in a 1271 document issued by the Hungarian chancellery. From 1950 up until 1992, when the salt mine was re-opened as a tourist site, the mine served as storage space for cheeses.

Overnight in Cluj-Napoca

We will leave Cluj in the morning and head to Rimetea, one of the most beautiful villages in Transylvania. A former mining town a few centuries ago, Rimetea is the best example of successful conversion to tourism, through a clever plan which preserved the architectural heritage of the village. It helped a lot its position, in a valley surrounded by imposing limestone cliffs. One of those cliffs will be our hiking path. Is a medium difficulty hike, but it involves around 2 hours of hiking on a steep trail. So, we will need good hiking boots and strong knees :). After the hike, we will have a short tour of the village to learn more about the history of Rimetea.

Overnight in Rimetea. Hiking distance: 8 kilometres, altitude gain: 600 meters.

Today we will explore the picturesque summer hamlets of the Apuseni mountains. The thatched wooden houses of the Apuseni used to be the standard a few dozen years ago, but now, the locals prefer modern materials. We need to good further deep in the mountains to be able to see those typical dwellings, and this will be our hiking theme for the day.

Overnight in Rimetea. Hiking distance: 10 kilometres, altitude gain: 600 m

In the 4th day of our Transylvania hiking from Cluj-Napoca we will head to the Transylvanian highlands: a hilly area with pastures and thick forests, dotted with colourful villages which seem to be frozen in time. Is the Saxon land, the area where the Saxon settlers coming from Wester Europe founded more than 100 villages starting from the 13th century. Each of those villages has a fortified church, used by the community as a safe shelter against the frequent invasion who plundered the region in the Middle Ages.

Our hike will follow the path of Via Transilvania around Biertan village. Via Transilvanica is a hiking trail starting from the north of Romania, passing through Transylvania and finishing in the Banat region, at the Danube. Although is yet to be finished (the last trail markers are to be installed in 2022), the route is becoming more and more popular among the Romanian hiking community and even beyond.

Overnight in Viscri; hiking distance: 10 kilometres; altitude gain: 600 m

Today we will enjoy the atmosphere of the typical Transylvanian village in Viscri. Like Biertan, Viscri is a former Saxon village with a fortified church listed on UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. In the morning, around 30 minutes after dusk we can watch the spectacle of the herd of cows, buffalos and goats walking slowly on the main street of the village towards the pasture. After breakfast, we can visit the fortified church and learn more about the Saxon communities in Transylvania. We can visit a local bakery and watch the final stage of bread making. We will buy one bread from the bakery and some cheese from their neighbour as the main ingredients for our lunch. Then, we will have a hike around the village and we will stop for a picnic on a clearing just above Viscri.

Overnight: Viscri; hiking distance: 7 kilometres; altitude gain: 00 m

We will leave Viscri and head to Transfagarasan road. We will drive up to Balea Lake, admiring on the way the stunning mountain landscape and the whirling road laid over the cliffs. At Balea Lake we will start steep hiking to the peaks nearby, climbing from 2000 to 2500 meters. Overnight in Sibiu

overnight: Sibiu, hiking distance: 6 kilometres; altitude gain: 500 m

Today we will go hiking in the Cindrel Mountains, near Sibiu. We will start the hike in the picturesque village at the foot of the mountains, from where, after an hour of climbing, we will reach the alpine meadows, where we will enjoy marvellous views of the Fagaras Mountains. The mountain ridge is dotted with dozens of wooden huts, used by the villagers in the summertime as a shelter during the time when they mow and collect the hay. Some of the huts are used also by the shepherds, who are grazing their sheep early in the summer and late in the autumn. If the shepherd is there we will ask him to prepare for us a traditional dish with polenta and cheese.

Overnight in Sibiu, hiking distance: 13 kilometres; altitude gain: 800 m

Today we will have a walking tour in Sibiu and if time permits in the Astra Open Air Museum. Depending on your flights, we will organise the transfer to Cluj or Sibiu airport.