HIDDEN TREASURES OF ROMANIA 9 days cultural tour Transylvania is the land “beyond the forests” (from the latin "Ultra silvam"), a land of beauty and wonders. Its very name conjures up visions of thickly forested peaks, sweet waved valleys and sparkling streams, visions of high-roofed wooden churches, medieval towns, mysterious castles and a troubled history. Maramures, abode of culture and civilisation, which has carved in wood its own history, is the place where traditions, popular garb and art are preserved like nowhere else in Romania. Maramures is a huge open-air museum, and the daily life of the Maramures village is a real return in time. A cradle of old civilisation, where history blends with legend, Bucovina is known for its famous painted monasteries - UNESCO patrimony: Moldovita, Sucevita, Voronet, Humor. As to the architectonic and historical aspects, the monasteries of Putna and Dragomirna are not of less importance. HIGHLIGHTS * Merry Cemetery in Sapanta * Maramures wooden churches * Painted Monasteries in Bucovina * Bicaz Gorges * Medieval town of Sighisoara OUR EVALUATION Culture***** Nature*** Comfort*** Human contacts**** Climbing and walking skills*   Day 1 Arrival in Cluj and transfer to the 3* hotel - welcome dinner in a traditional restaurant.   Day 2 Cluj - Beclean - Salva - Sacel - Botiza (200 km) Breakfast. Discover Cluj, the most important cultural center in Transylvania. Tour of the city - an occasion to appreciate the richness of the Gothic and Baroque architecture of the old town center: the Pharmacy Museum, the Orthodox and Catholic Cathedrals. Lunch in a restaurant and drive to the Maramures, following the road through the Salauta Valley. Stop and visit the wooden church in Dragomiresti. Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in a village in Iza Valley.   Day 3 Botiza - Sieu - Sighetu Marmatiei - Sapanta - Botiza (150 km) Breakfast. Visit an artisan's workshop of handmade rugs dyed with vegetal colors - you may buy them there directly from the artisan. Discover the cultural richness of the Maramures: the unique "Merry Cemetery" of Sapanta, with its wooden sculpted and painted crosses and the wooden carved gates from Iza Valley. Lunch in a restaurant in Sighetu Marmatiei, then visit The Memorial Museum of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance, located in a former political prison. Drive to Barsana and visit the new Monastery Settlement. Free program till evening - discover the countryside life. Festive dinner with local players "ceterasi" and overnight in a rural guesthouse.   Day 4 Botiza - Ieud - Sacel - Borsa - Iacobeni - Campulung Moldovenesc - Vama (150 km) Breakfast. Visit the village of Ieud and the local wooden church, dating from 1718. Drive to Borsa. Lunch or picnic lunch in Borsa. Drive to Prislop Pass, the passage between the Maramures and Bucovina; here takes place in August every year a great festival of traditional popular Romanian dances. If in place at that period, visit a local sheepfold. Drive and stop to visit the village of Ciocanesti, famous for its exterior walls painted houses - an emblem of Bucovina. Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in Bucovina.   Day 5 Vama - Voronet - Sucevita - Marginea - Moldovita - Vama (100 km) Breakfast. Visit of the painted monasteries: Voronet (surnamed the Sistine Chapel of the East, which is the most famous of the monasteries of Bucovina) and Sucevita. Each monastery is painted in a specific colour: blue, green or yellow. Visit the village of Marginea, famous for its black earthenware pottery renowned to date back to the ancient Dacian (pre-Roman) period. Lunch in a rural guesthouse. Drive to Moldovita Monastery. After visit, meet a craftsman who decorates Easter eggs, with a chance to try out your own decorating talents. Back for dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse.   Day 6 Vama - Falticeni - Targu Neamt - Izvorul Muntelui - Bicaz - Lazarea (230 km) Breakfast. Drive to Lazarea, along the lake Izvorul Muntelui (the Spring of the Mountain) - 48 km long. Stop for lunch in a restaurant on the shore of the lake. Continue to Lazarea passing through the Bicaz Gorges, with spectacular limestone walls. Occasion to walk along the road, in the thundering of the Bicaz river. You may also see lots of handcrafters, selling their products in the gorges. By the evening arrival to the Sicule's County. Dinner and overnight in a village near Gheorgheni, in a rural guesthouse - an occasion to discover the local rich gastronomy.   Day 7 Lazarea - Joseni - Praid - Corund - Sighisoara (125 km) Breakfast. Visit the village of Lazarea - the Castle of the Counts Lazar, the Franciscan Monastery and the open-air Modern Arts Museum. Drive to Praid to explore the historical salt mine. Lunch in a restaurant in Praid. On the way to Sighisoara, stop in Corund, one of the most representative Hungarian pottery centres in Transylvania. Dominant colours of the pottery are blue, green and yellow, with lots of stylised flower representations. Visit a small pottery workshop, where you may purchase items directly from the producer. Continue to Sighisoara. Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel in Sighisoara in the center of the medieval fortress on the hill.   Day 8 Sighisoara - Biertan - Medias - Tarnaveni - Targu Mures - Cluj (160 km) Breakfast. In the morning, tour medieval Sighisoara (to its Saxon founders, "Schassburg"), an imposing fortified hilltop town dominating the valley below. Then drive to Biertan to visit one of the biggest Saxon fortresses in Transylvania. Lunch in a restaurant in Medias. Drive to Cluj, one of the biggest economic centres of Transylvania, with old traditions of culture, research and education. Farewell dinner in a traditional restaurant. Overnight in a 3* hotel in Cluj. Day 9 Breakfast. Free time for city sightseeing and shopping in Cluj-Napoca. You will have the chance to discover a traditional peasant market. Transfer to the airport or railway station for departure.

Duration 9 days / 8 nights Lodging rural guesthouses (ocasionally, bathrooms shared between tourists) and hotels Notes 1. Rates do not apply during Easter, Chrismas and the New Year period. 2. According to the opening hours for some visited sites (e.g. museums), this programme can be applied as it is if Day 1 is Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. If Day 1 differs, some visits or activities will be replaced consequently. 3. Price does not include: extra taxes for cameras and filming (requested in some places - e.g. the monasteries), personal drinks off the boarding, tips (optional). 2010 RATES NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PERIOD PRICE/ PERS SGLE SUPPL PRICE INCLUDES 2 (private tour) all year long 1395 EUR 155 EUR - lodging: 5 nights in rural guesthouses, 3 nights in hotels (on a double room basis occupancy) - boarding: full board (as specified in the programme) - entry tickets for the visits included in the programme - transport and transfers in Romania by car, minibus or coach - all road and parking taxes - transport of luggage - English speaking attested tour guide - all taxes 8 (constitued groups) all year long 785 EUR 155 EUR 845 EUR 155 EUR Quotation on request for other group sizes or discounts for children under 12