- Duration: 7 Days
- Location: Departure from Cluj-Napoca
- Available Seat: Please contact us!
- Price: 436 €/person
The legendary and the picturesque Apuseni Mountains have spectacular scenery; with no daring peaks, but with numerous karstic formations and impressive gorges, they are a great attraction, no matter the season.
Due to the mountains’ low altitude, this region was inhabited very long ago. The Apuseni Mountains, also called “Motz Country”, captivate tourists with its remarkable rural universe, with its old crafts and customs, the enchanting peasant architecture and the traditional costume all coming together to create a wonderful show.
The fauna is very important, particularly due to its hunting potential: brown bears, wild boars, deer and rabbits. The river Aries and its tributaries display a rich variety of fish. In order to maintain the beauty of these landscapes, some of the natural monuments are protected in natural reservations.
Day 1
Cluj-Napoca
Arrival at the international airport of Cluj-Napoca. Depending on the arrival time, free time for city tour: The Botanical Garden (with over 10 000 species of plants throughout the world), Saint Michael’s Church (built in the 14th century in a Gothic style), The Orthodox Cathedral, The National Theatre, Palace of Justice, Iuliu Maniu street (also known as The Street in the Mirror), the Hoia Forest (well-known for its paranormal phenomena which crooks the trees and offers great visual effects).
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 2
Cluj-Napoca – Turda – Scarisoara – Pestera Ursilor – Chiscau
Breakfast. Departure to the Apuseni Mountains, a mountain range which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians and which translation means of the sunset.
In Turda visit the salt mine, where the salt extractions were made even from antiquity. Since 2008, when it entered in a modernization and improvement process, the salt mine is a great touristic attraction through the galleries, big rooms and especially through the salt lake from the bottom. Lunch in restaurant.
Visit Scarisoara Ice Cave, formed 3500 years ago, during the glaciations, when these mountains were covered by snow. The entrance shaft (60 m in diameter and 48 m in depth) gives access through metal stairs to a large chamber of 108 m long and 78 m wide, called The Big Hall. The glacier has a volume of 75000 cubic meters and has average thickness of 16m. The temperature is up to +1°C in the summer and down to -7°C in the winter. Every year, an ice layer is melting and another one is deposited, formations silhouettes shaping.
Continue to Chiscau. Visit the Bears’ Cave. Discovered in 1975, the name has this name cause to the 140 cave bears skeletons found here. The cave is 1500 m long, but just the first 488 m are open for visitors; the rest is reserved to the scientific research.
Dinner and overnight in a pension in Chiscau.
Day 3
Chiscau – Galbenei Gorges – Focul Viu – Chiscau
Breakfast. Departure to Pietroasa in order to hike to the Spring Galbenei, through the narrow gorge Galbenei. Hidden caves and grottos, Evantai (Fan) Waterfall, an underground river and then Izbucul Galbenei, few reasons to visit one of the purest and the wildest landscapes in Romania (! The range is recommended to experienced tourists, having a higher difficulty degree, with passages through tunnels and scramble on chains). Package lunch.
Following the touristic marking, continue to Focul Viu (The Vivid Fire in Romanian), the place where the light and the ice are meeting in the middle of the summer days in order to perform an impressive show.
Retour at Chiscau for dinner and overnight in the same pension.
Day 4
Chiscau – Moara Dracului – Stana de Vale
Breakfast. Departure to Stana de Vale, a health resort situated in a depression of the Apuseni Mountains. The invigorating climate, the mineral waters, the fresh air and the wild landscape are creating one of the most demanded resorts in Romania. Lunch in restaurant.
Hike to Moara Dracului, a waterfall of 25 m high, with water fall in two steps of a remarkable beauty.
Dinner and overnight in 3* pension in Stana de Vale.
Day 5
Stana de Vale – Luncasprie Lake – Baile Felix – Oradea
Breakfast. Departure to Oradea. In Luncasprie visit the lake with an unreal color built in 1967 for the bauxite mines. This lake is unique through its overflow in funnel shape and its surroundings of a wild beauty.
Stop in Baile Felix for a short relaxation in the thermal spa resort and lunch.
Visit Oradea town: the city center, the Baroque Palace with 365 famous windows, the Fortress in a pentagonal shape, the Church with Moon (unique in Europe through the astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon), Republicii Street with a great number of Art Nouveau buildings, the Theatre, the City Hall, the Neologistic Synagogue.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 6
Oradea – Turda Gorges – Cluj-Napoca
Breakfast. Drive to Cluj-Napoca. Lunch in restaurant.
If the time allows (not raining or snowing), have a walk in the Turda Gorges, a natural reserve situated at 6 km west of Turda. There is one of the richest and most scenic karst in Romania, with over 1000 species of plants and animals, and 60 known caves, almost all of them being of small size (max. 120 m).
Arrival in Cluj-Napoca. Farewell dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 7
Cluj-Napoca
Breakfast. Last visits and shopping. Departure.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Cluj-Napoca city
* Turda Salt Mine
* Scarisoara Ice Cave
* Bears’ Cave in Chiscau
* Galbenei Valley
* Focul Viu Glacier
* Stana de Vale health resort
* Moara Dracului Waterfall
* Luncasprie Lake
* Felix thermal baths
* Oradea town
* Turda Gorges
PRICE:
Organized groups: 436 €/person
Specvial! Private tour: 826 €/person
*95 €/person SGL Suppl.
Included:
- Accommodation 3 nights in 3* hotels and 3 nights in 3* pensions
- Full board (check-in with dinner and check-out with breakfast)
- All transport and round transfers
- Fuel, road and parking taxes
- Entry tickets for the visits in the program
- English speaking attested guide
- Telephonic emergency call and support 24/7
Not included:
- Air tickets
- Taxes for cameras and filming
- Driver for private tour
- Drinks off the boarding
- Tips
NOTE:
- The program in the present form is available if Day 1 is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, according to the opening hours of some visits or activities in the tour. If Day 1 differs, they will be replaced or cancel.
- Rates do not apply during the main holidays (Easter, Christmas and New Year) and during great events (festivals, concerts, fairs).
