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ROMANIA : TRAIL RIDES IN TRANSYLVANIA AND THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS...

Itinerary - Extensions - Horses and required riding level
Guiding - Accommodation - Dates and rates - More infos / booking

ITINERARY

CARPATHIAN RIDE (stationary ride with a two days excursion to the mountains and one night of bivouac)

The riding centre, built in 2004, combines local traditions with Western standard. It has a new, tasteful and modern guesthouse with private bathrooms and offers mainly organic food from the own garden or from the surrounding farms. On our exceptional horses the riders can explore the healthy and well preserved surroundings with its fantastic scenery and good chances to watch bears or red dear.
The program below gives you an idea of the possible organisation of the week. Depending on weather conditions and the riding level of the group or for security reasons, the guide may modify the schedule slightly.

Day 1 - Saturday : Bucarest - Sinca Noua
Pick-up at Bucarest airport around 03:15 pm 04:00 at the latest and transfer by minibus to the riding centre in Sinca Noua. The 3 hours drive gives un the occasion to get our first impressions on the country and to meet the other participants. Arrival at the riding centre's guesthouse situated in a valley outside the village. Dinner is at 07:30 and we might have time for a first exploration. After dinner, Barbara and Christoph, the guides and owners of the centre will present the week's program while offering a welcome drink.

Day 2 - Sunday
After breakfast you will be shown around the farm and introduced to the horses. Soon we take off for a first ride along the meadows at the foot of the mountains. The hills offer a fantastic view over the area and the meadows invite for some first trot or canter. You will be stunned by the variety of wild flowers and we might already come across the first tracks of bears or wild boar. We enter on a forest road into the vast forests of the Carpthians and follow a long valley up into the mountains. Parts of the forests have never been cut and huge beech and fir trees hem our way. After lunch break on a mountain meadow with spectacular view we return in the early evening back to the stable. On the way back there is a steep part where you will get off your horse and lead it down the mountain.

Dinner at the guesthouse and in the evening you will have the opportunity to watch a video presentation about the research and conservation project Barbara and Christoph carried out over the last 10 years.

Day 3 - Monday
Today we will ride again through the hills and valleys of the area, pass a more than 100 year old railway viaduct built during the Austro-Hungarian empire, might come across shepherd camps, cow herds and water buffaloes, and should find tracks of bears, boars, red deer, wolves or lynx. There will be lots of possibilities for canters and even gallops over the meadows.

Likely, we will have the chance in the evening to go to a hide in the forest to watch wild bears (has to be paid extra – 30 € - and cannot be 100% guaranteed). A late dinner will be served at the guesthouse.

Day 4 - Tuesday
Today we give the horses a rest and experience the true history of Transylvania. We leave Sinca Noua and drive for about an hour and a half through sleepy villages to the north, until we reach the village of Viscri with its famous fortified church (UNESCO World Heritage Site) from the times of the invasion of Turks. It is just a gravel road, which gets us the last 10 kilometers to Viscri, which has been a settlement of the Saxons, the German minority, for the last 900 years. In 1990, most of the villagers have left to Germany, but a small number of people stayed to continue their traditional life. If we are lucky, we meet Sarah a pure saxon-bred and the soal of the village who can tell us a lot about the old traditions.

We visit the fortified church, stroll through the village and will be served a traditional Saxon meal with food from own production and home-made wine and plum brandy. In the afternoon we continue to the city of Sighisoara, one of the cultural centres of the Saxons. We visit the medieval centre of Sighisoara and arrive back at our guesthouse in Sinca Noua in the late evening.

Days 5 & 6 - Wednesday & Thursday (bivouac)
A 40 km roundtrip leads us through the endless forests of Transylvania, home of the large carnivores. We cross beautiful mountain meadows, will have the possibility for some long canters and arrive in the afternoon in an area, where people’s life has changed little since the middle ages. Their little mountain farms are still being worked with oxen or horses, people lack even facilities such as running water or electricity. Camp is being set for us at one of these farms with a fantastic view around. We will enjoy a rustic dinner cooked at the campfire and have a long evening around the fire to tell stories. The next morning we pack our stuff and ride along forest trails and roads and enjoy the spectacular view over the Carpathian mountains where tracks of wolves or bears are commonly found along the trails. In the afternoon, we arrive back at the guesthouse.

Day 7 - Friday
On our last ride for the week, we ride in a large loop around Sinca Noua through wild forests, beautiful meadows, enjoy canters and great scenery, and arrive back at our guesthouse after 6 hours of pleasure.

Day 8 - Saturday : Transfer to Bucarest
After breakfast it is time to return to Bucarest. The minibus will bring us there around midday. If you continue your stay in Bucarest, you can also ask for a drop off in town.

Important : The trail taking place in a mountain area, our guide reserves the right to modify the program according to the weather conditions. The order of the days can change and the two days excursion with bivouac can be replaced by two days of riding with overnight stay in the guest house.

TRANSYLVANIA TRAIL

The hills of Transylvania are made for horseback riding – if you would have to design an area perfect for fast riding in a fascinating scenery and mixed with a unique experience of medieval villages, you would end up with a landscape like that.
Our 200 km ride (8 days on the horse) starts in Schaal (Romanian: Soala), a small, but 800 year-old Saxon village about 20 km South-West of Medias and approx. 200 km from Sinca Noua, our destination.

On our way we will see some of the most beautiful and famous fortified churches of Eastern Europe, some of which are more than 800 years old !

Day 1 - Saturday : Bucarest
Pick-up at Bucarest airport around 03:15 pm, 04:00 pm at the latest and transfer by minibus to Soala/Schaal. The 6 hours drive gives un the occasion to get our first impressions on the country and to meet the other participants. Arrival in Soala/Schaal where we spend the night at Annabelle and Gerth's guesthouse and riding centre.

Day 2 - Sunday

This itinerary will be translated soon.

Introduction into the trip, selecting the horses, early afternoon start, about 3 hours riding through the forests and hills. We pass the fortified church of Valea Viilor/Wurmloch, an over 700 year old UNESCO World Heritage Site. Overnight next to the fortified church of Moşna/Meschen.

Day 3 - Monday

Full-day ride to Biertan/Birthälm, probably the most famous fortified church of Eastern Europe, which was built in medieval times to protect the villagers against invading turks. The ride is still quite a lot in the oak-hornbeam forest, but with beautiful long canters. Overnight in the guesthouse of the evangelic church in Biertan.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Full-day ride over the hills, we are still much in the forests, but slowly the open meadows get more numerous, overnight in Mălấncrav/Malmkrog. We will visit there a project of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, an English trust under the patronage of Prince Charles, which has done fantastic work in the conservation of the old Saxon villages.

Day 5 - Wednesday

Full-day ride to Neustadt/Noistat, again over the hills with still quite a bit of oak/hornbeam forests. Overnight with a local family in the guesthouse of the Evangelic Church. In the evening we will go the a nearby lake, in fact the only lake in Central Transylvania, and will look for birds there.

Day 6 - Thursday

Half-day ride to Selistat/Seligstadt, a remote village in the hills. Now, the area is open and there is less and less forests. Chances are now very high to see lesser spotted eagles, bee-eaters and other rare birds. We take a detour towards the village of Schoenberg/Dealul Frumos and have some fantastic canters over the meadows. Overnight in the guesthouse of the Evangelic Church in Selistat.

Day 7 - Friday

Full-day ride through Lovnic, Cobor, a small village with Hungarian inhabitants in the middle of a fascinating landscape, and further to Ticusu Veche, where we stay overnight in a privately run guesthouse.

Day 8 - Saturday

Half-day ride from Ticusu through beautiful oak/hornbeam forests into the Olt River Valley to Halmeag, where we cross the River Olt. We continue in the low hills above the Olt River Valley, most beautiful, long canters. We arrive in the village Bucium, where we stay in a small private guesthouse with a local family.

Day 9 - Sunday

Full day ride into the Carpathian Mountains to the village of Sinca Noua, first eco-village in Romania. Ride ends here. Overnight either in Equus Silvania guesthouse or in another guesthouse nearby (depends on whether we are fully booked).

Day 10 - Monday

Excursion by bus to the Lippizan stud of Sambata de Jos, largest Lippizan stud of the world, and the Sambata de Sus orthodox monastry.

Day 11 - Tuesday

EXTEND YOUR TRIP

HORSES AND REQUIRED RIDING LEVEL

Horses Horses are from different breds : - Kisbery hungarian half blood horse, the hungary saddle horse, - Gidran : anglo arab from Hungary with chesnut coat, average 1m70 height, well conditionned to hard climates, good jumper, - Furioso-Northstar : nice saddle horse suitable for harness too. Bay or black, 1m65 height, - Pur arabian horses, - Shagya-arabes : kind of arabian horse with often a grey coat. He is taller and bigger than the pur arabian horse but keep the same characteristics, - Lippizan horse : robust saddle horse, vivacious and energic but very nice. He looks typically spanish horse. Grey or white coat, 1m548 height.

Tack
We use English style saddles and simple bits. Very comfortable back saddlebags are provided to carry the picnic lunch, a bottle of water and a rain coat / sweat shirt. We recommend to bring a sheep skin for a bit more confort.

Riquired riding level
This trail is recommended for advanced riders, at ease at all paces and with already a good experience on trail riding. The rythm is quick and you should be able to hold long canters. it's possible you have to walk in steep slopes.

Max weight : 90 kg
Minimum age : 10 years, with the requested riding abilities and accompanied by an adult.

YOUR GUIDES

Barbara and Christophe are our 2 guides on these trails. Each two are biologists and will be able to show and explain you flora and fauna. They are Romania enthousiasts and know perfectly the history of the country. They'll have a great pleasure to answer all your questions.

They created a fondation to save Sinca Noua area and classify it as Regional Parc. Riders who want to join their cause car help them by giving 40€. This of course not compulsory.

ACCOMMODATION

Carpathian ride

Accommodation

We are accommodate in guesthouse near the riding centre. All rooms have their private bathroom. A big living room, bar are at the riders disposal.

During the 2 days trail in the mountain, accommodation is under tent.

Food

Breakfast is a buffet (ham, cheese, eggs, cereals, white cheese, fruits...). With this buffet each one prepare his own picnic lunch.

On the evening, a very nice hot meal is served in the living room of the guesthouse.

Transylvania

Accommodation
We are accommodating in guesthouse or in a local family depending availabilities.

Attention : we are in the rural Romania, confort and standing are not high.

We can't suggest single rooms on that trail, and depending the accommodation, rooms are for 3 or 4 people.

Food
Breakfast at the gueshouse or local family. Picnic lunch at noon prepared int he morning and carried in the saddle bags. Hot diners at the accommodation.

DATES AND RATES

* Max. 6 riders on those departures, the small group supplement doesn't apply..
Special offer on new departures : -50 euros.

Single room supplement (available only on the Carpathian Ride) : 90 €
This supplement has to be pay for the rider who expressly ask us a single. Otherwise, the rider will have to share the room with other riders.

RATE INCLUDING

- the trail as described above, full-board basis includind tea, coffee and water,

- the visits,
- transfers from and to the airport,
- the financial guarantee of the deposits you send to Randocheval

RATE NOT INCLUDING

- beverages except tea, coffe and water,
- tips (we recommand 20 to 30 € for the team),

- small group supplement,

- single supplement (only on the Carpathian Ride)
- any other service or activity,
- insurance : repatriation aid or multiple-risk (cancellation, luggage, repatriation) : More information

BOOKING - INFORMATION

For any inquiry, please contact Anne !

PRATICAL INFORMATIONS

COUNTRY

Romania

LENGTH

Carpathian Ride

8 days, 7 nights, 5 days on horseback + 1 day visiting Viscri and Sighisoara.

Transylvania Trail
11 days / 10 nights / 8 days on horseback including 2 half days.

LANGUAGE

GROUP SIZE

ACCESS

CLIMATE

Formalities
Check with your local Embassy according to your nationality.

Vaccines-Health
No specific vaccination, we recommend you to be up to date with your usual vaccinations, in particular the tetanus vaccine.
Remember that a repatriation travel insurance is compulsory.

REFERENCE :CH167-Romania