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

ITINERARY

CARPATHIAN SUMMER 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.

Day 1 - Saturday : Bucarest - Sinca Noua
Pick-up at Bucarest airport around 03:15 pm (04:20 pm at the latest) and transfer by minibus to the riding centre in Sinca Noua. The 3 hours drive gives us 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 before. After dinner, the guides 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.

Carpathian winter ride - centre based (January/February)

The program of the winter ride is different from summer as days are much shorter. We are more or less flexible and can adapt to your wishes.

We usually go for a 3 or 4 hours tour in the morning (riding or sledging) in the snowy hills and mountains around the riding centre, looking out for tracks of the wild animals and coming back to the stables for late lunch and warm up.

We can also experience ourself how to drive a horse driven sledge.

We are sure to get a complete change of scenery in this remote place in Eastern Europe. Time to experience the traditional life of a mountain village or to visit de newborn lambs of the sheperds.

Weather permitting (snow conditions and moon light), we can also go for an evening ride through the hills of the area.

In the middle of the week there will be a break for the horses and the riders will meet with the history of Transylvania. We drive south to Bran, with its famous "Dracula castle" and then continue to Brasov, which has been throughout the centuries the cultural centre of the Trasilvanian Saxons. We visit the famous Black Church, stroll through the medieval old town and will have time for some shopping and sight seeing.

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.
The ride goes in a loop of approx. 150 km around the small village of Sinca Noua, first self-declared "ecological" village of Romania.

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 (04:20 pm at the latest), transfer by minibus to Sinca Noua. During the three hours drive we get a first glimpse on Romania and also meet the other participants. Dinner and night in the guest house of the riding centre or in B&B in the village.

Day 2 - Sunday

After a short introduction to the horses and the ride, we leave Sinca Noua and the foothills of the Carpathian mountains towards the plains of the Olt River valley. We already get some good chances for long canters before we arrive at our destination of today, Mandra, where we stay with local families (only triple rooms available).

Day 3 - Monday

After breakfast we cross the Olt River at Sona and ride about 6 hours on the rolling hills around the Felmer Valley to finally reach the goal of today, Ticusu Veche, and old Saxon village. Dinner and night in a beautifully renovated former priests house with modern facilities (double and triple rooms).

Day 4 - Tuesday

Full day ride to the village of Selistat through some of the most beautiful landscapes. There is lots of opportunities for long canters and we will likely see bee-eaters, hoopoes, great grey shrikes or lesser spotted eagles. In Selistat we stay at the guesthouse of the Lutheran church, which is nowadays some sort of a youth hostel. From our rooms, we can look right into a stroks's nest. (Only triple rooms).

Day 5 - Wednesday

Our full day ride of about 6 hours goes over the hills to Viscri, our station for this night. Viscri is famous for its fortified church, and the UK based Mihai Eminescu Trust which is under the patronage of Prince Charles and has restored the village in its original settings. We stay in the old farmhouses, which are transformed into little guesthouses, and enjoy the traditional Saxon cuisine. In the evening there is time to explore the village, visit an old smith that still works as his ancestors did for centuries, or a hike to a small brick factory (where evertyhing is of course still done manually).

Day 6 - Thursday

After a hearty breakfast we leave Viscri for a newly built log-house near the village of Jibert. Stunning scenery and great canters all along the way, but today is a rather shorter ride of 3-4 hours. We get a great dinner and will enjoy a bonfire-party.

Day 7 - Friday

Today, after some great canters, we are leaving the hills of Transylvania and descend into the Olt River Valley again. In Halmeag a bus takes us back to Sinca Noua while our horses get a transport back home. A surprise farewell dinner awaits us in the evening.

Day 8 - Saturday

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.

EXTEND YOUR TRIP

HORSES AND REQUIRED RIDING LEVEL

Horses Horses are from different breeds : - Kisberi hungarian half blood saddle horse, - Gidran : anglo arab from Hungary with chesnut coat, average 1m70 height, well conditionned to hard climates, good jumper, - Pure-bred arab horses, - Shagya-arabs : kind of arab horse with often a grey coat. He is taller and bigger than the pure arab horse but keeps the same characteristics. 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.

Recommended 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. You might have to walk beside your horse on some steep slopes. Max weight : 90 kg Minimum age : 12 years, with the requested riding abilities and accompanied by an adult. What you need to know A hard hat is mandatory on this ride. There is cell phone cover nearly everywhere. Free WIFI at the guesthouse of the riding centre.

YOUR GUIDES

The guides on these rides are either Barbara or Christoph, the owners of the riding centre or someone from their team. They will be able to show and explain the flora and fauna as well as the history of Romania.

They created a foundation in order to preserve Sinca Noua and its area as a Regional Parc. Riders who want to support their cause can help them by donating 40€, but this is of course not compulsory.

ACCOMMODATION

Carpathian ride

Accommodation

In the guesthouse of the riding centre. All rooms have their private bathroom. A big living room, a bar and the breakfast/dining room are at the riders disposal.

During the 2 days trail in the mountains, there will be one night bivouac.

Food

Breakfast is a buffet (ham, cheese, eggs, cereals, white cheese, fruits...) from which everybody prepares his own lunch picnic.

Hot dinner is served in the evening in the dining room of the guesthouse (except the night in the mountains, where we will have a barbecue).

Transylvania

Accommodation
Depending on availabilities in the villages, accomodation is in guesthouses or in a local family.

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

4 out of 7 nights a single room can be granted.

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

DATES AND RATES

- single room supplement : 90 €

This supplement is only charged to you if you wish a single room. Single riders who do not pay single supplement are supposed to share their room with another rider of the same gender.

- the trail as described above, full-board basis including tea, coffee and water, In 2012 all beverages will be included,

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

- beverages except tea, coffee and water (2011)
- tips (we recommend 30 € for the team),

- small group supplement,

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

BOOKING - INFORMATION

For any inquiry, please contact Anne !

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

Romania

Carpathian Ride

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

Transylvania Trail
8 days / 7 nights / 6 days on horseback including 1 half day.

Formalities
Please check with your local ambassy.

Vaccination - health
No specific vaccinations. Don't forget your repatriation insurance.

We recommand to be update of usual vaccination, and especially tetanus..