Radio România Internațional

Tag: trekking

  • Active tourism in Romania

    Active tourism in Romania

    Active tourism attracts a growing number of visitors in Romania, thanks to the spectacular scenery and the diversity of the outdoor activities on offer. The Carpathian Mountains are a perfect destination for trekking, climbing and escalade, with trails marked for all levels of difficulty.

    Those who are into cycling can explore the mountain routes, Transylvania’s picturesque roads or can head towards wine cellars on two wheels. In winter, the ski resorts attract lovers of snow sports. Active tourism is also a perfect way to discover natural beauties and local traditions.

    Ana Voican creates and promotes active tourism packages in Romania. She also organizes events dedicates to all those who love active tourism.

    “ I’d say Romania is a very generous offer in the area of active tourism. Firsi off, we have an extraordinary geographical diversity enabling us to get to know active Romania all throughout the year. In thr spring, in the summer, in autumn, in winter, any time you want, there’s a lot for you to do, you’ve got a lot to choose from, while the areas you can go to are very generous to that end. Until the first snow falls, we can, as early as December 1st we can opt for cycling to Dealu Mare, for instance, nearby Bucharest, where we can visit the wine cellars.

    We can pick up an easy route, 20-kilometer long, at an altitude no highest than 200 meters, so it is suitable for adults but also for children. We can visit the objectives in the area, but we can also have a stopover at the wine cellars, to sample the wine, to enjoy the brunches and the parties together with friends and family. “

    As soon as the first layer of snow sets in, resorts are the perfect destination for those who are into winter sports. There are roughly 300 homologated ski slopes in Romania, so the offer is extremely generous.

    “As of December 1st the ski slopes are open, so we start skiing, snowboarding. We can opt for the Prahova Valley resorts, but also also for Straja, Paltinis, where usually all throughout the winter season parties are being staged, original contests open for all the people who are into doing such sports. But the best thing is that we have parties at daytime but also in the evening, for all those who, at night, want to enjoy the sight of the ski slopes.

    In resorts across Romania we can enjoy traditions, the adorning of the fir tree, we can listen to carols, we can welcome Santa Claus. However, during the day, we can take trailing routes and thus get to know the objectives of the respective region. We appreciated a lot and promoted the packages that also offer SPA relaxation options.

    And at this point I should like to mention Herculane Spa, Govora Spa, Felix Spa, as, apart from this SPA side, with jacuzzi, therapies, they can go on a trailing route in the nature reserves, they can do bird watching, they can watch the fauna of the season, also relax through doing a bit of power walk they can of course blend into the relaxation side. “

    And, if we want to do some exercise when we are on a family holiday, Romania also comes up with offers to that end. With more on that, here is Ana Voican, a promoter of active tourism and an events organizer.

    „It is the area I hold most dear: active tourism. I should go, as we speak, to Balvanyos Resort, for instance and I should choose as there I have access to four-star facilities. However, I also access to the SPA area, indoor or outdoor swimming pools. I can also go with the family, with my two children and also make the most of the scenery in the region. We can also go sledging, we can also do outdoor activities usually staged at the time of the winter holidays. So the whole range of activities is very well-defined, actually.

    Spring is the season of the bicycle rides and of trekking, but also the season of events. TRACK „Also, we begin practicing water sports, rafting, kayak, and we can put them all together in a package, and then summer also comes. For the summer, we prepared a festival for families and children. It happens on Whitsuntide over June 6 and 9 in Buzau Mountains. For two days running, we’re going to camp, we’re going to live under the sky full of start, in tents, in caravans, we’re also going to gave glamping accommodation, little houses and we shall do lots of outdoor activities.

    We ‘re going to cut ourselves off from the hubbub of the city a little bit and we’re going to relax in the middle of nature, together with the children, where we seek connection, with nature, but also with the family, through activities boy scouts only do, we get to know nature, we survive in nature and we have fun as well.

    We shall stage creative workshops, educational workshops, we shall look at the stars and we shall see the constellations, we’re going to have campfires with live concerts. There are a great many things we can appreciate and put to good use and I think it is high time we considered such experiences as well. “

    Via Transilvanica, the road that unites, is a long-distance tourist trail, 1, 400 kilometer-long, cutting across Romania. It is destined to walking, bicycle riding or taking it on horseback. The route is signaled with painted marking signs, indicator poles, while marking each one-kilometer distance is an individually sculpted andesite milestone. They are highly likely to make the world’s longest art gallery, accompanying travelers all along their trailing route.

    Ana Voican:

    “I should like us to focus, a little bit, on a highly appreciated project, which is well worth mentioning in all these talks where experiences are highlighted. I’m speaking about Via Transilvanica, where a lot has been invested in marking the itinerary, which can be walked as a trail route, but also as a cycling route, in some of its segments. It is absolutely breathtaking and is worth visiting since it offers a complete image about Romania, which can be crossed by foot.

    I interacted with the foreign tourists. The first thing they answer, to the question why have you chosen Romania as your destination is because Romania is wild, wild Romania. They have access to animals they can see not only on TV or through, but they can see with their own eyes when they take our trails. They are literally surprised with how many things they can see, things they cannot otherwise see in the countries they come from. “

    Ana Voican, a promoter of active tourism in Romania and an event organizer, tells us most of the tourists who opt for active tourism offers in Romani come from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany Spain and United States. In the digital era, when we are surrounded by screens, everybody appreciates the reconnection with nature.

  • Dambovicioara

    Dambovicioara

    We’re heading today towards the center of Romania. Our
    stopover is a tourist resort of national interest, the commune of Dâmbovicioara.
    The area is recommended to all categories of tourists, for relaxation, but also
    for active tourism. Climbing, mountain cycling and agritourism can be practiced
    there. Also, in the region you can watch genuine pageantries of traditional apparel,
    or you can take part in festivals that promote the local cuisine.


    It is a
    place replete with traditions, it is a destination for the entire family. With details
    on that, here is an official of the National Tourism Information
    and Promotion Center, Raluca Busioc.




    Dâmbovicioara
    is a wonderful commune, with breathtaking scenery and I’m not the only one
    saying it, as here it feels like home to me and there are also many other people
    saying it, those who arrive here. Geographically speaking, Dâmbovicioara is
    part of Wallachia, it is a commune in Arges county, lying on the border with Brasov
    County, in Transylvania. The mountain ranges surrounding our commune are part
    of the Southern Carpathians, namely Piatra Craiului, Iezer-Păpușa and Leaota. So,
    the invitation we ‘re extending is for you to see spectacular landscapes existing
    in those mountain trails. The trekking routes are very many, and extremely varied.
    Also, you can practice bouldering in the Brusturet Gorges, a segment of the gorges
    which is part of a complex of eighteen gorges in our area. Apart from tis
    adventure tourism, relaxation is, by all means, welcome in our area because it
    is a very quiet area, it is not crowded at all. In recent years, jointly with
    the people in the community we have succeeded to lay our emphasis on experience
    tourism. We have been trying to promote, and we’ve succeeded, together with
    groups of tourists, to stage all sort of activities related to the life here,
    to life in the countryside.


    Experience-based tourism is an innovative
    approach to travelling, for which center-stage is being able to experience and
    understand culture, places and people, instead of only visiting traditional
    tourist objectives. This kind of tourism provides
    a deeper perspective on the destination. In Dâmbovicioara, you’re sure to
    experience the local culture and the local way of living, which, definitely,
    means unforgettable memories, says the official
    of the National Tourism Information and Promotion Center, Raluca Busioc.


    We experienced stitching on etamine, wood
    sculpture, tourists can see for themselves how to sew the ie, the traditional blouse
    specific for our area. Even the cooking workshops based on the recipes in our
    region have worked very well, while people have begun to be strongly attracted
    by everything related to experience tourism. Apart from the scenery or the leisure
    of the guesthouses, people want to have their own memories of their stay here. Usually,
    such activities target groups of at least ten people. So far, we have worked
    with tourism agencies that had the role of organizing that group. I have been approached
    and, jointly with the people here, in the community, with other partners, I have
    created tourism programs for those people. So a connection between tourists, the
    community and these activities in the community can be the Dambovicioara
    Tourism Center. The Center’s Facebook page can be accessed at Turism Dambovicioara
    and there it is the fastest way to contact me, but you can also contact me by phone,
    that’s for sure.


    You will also find a little museum with the Turism Promotion
    and Information Center.


    It is a room that has been arranged
    according to tradition. I thought, together with my colleagues and with the
    other people I have been working with, that it could act as an introduction to tradition.
    There is, in the region, a museum which is a lot more complex than tis room in
    the tourism center, yet the role this room had was, in fact, a meeting point
    for the women in the community. Later, tourists also came, they wanted to see
    for themselves how this demo of sewing and weaving work, actually, as we also
    have a weaving loom here, at the tourism center. So, the main role was to give
    an impetus of village women’s evening sittings that have of course got a new
    shape, yet what we had in mind were the village evening sitting of the old
    days.


    The Dâmbovicioara river cut down, into the rock, an eight-kilometer-long
    canyon, while in some of the segments the walls of the valley are more than 200
    meter high. There are more than 50 caves in the region. However, Raluca Busioc
    of the National Tourism Information and Promotion Center recommends that we
    visit the Dâmbovicioara Cave, which offers a varied karstic relief. It was
    discovered in 1579 and has electric lighting since 1980. Right at the entrance,
    you will find a restaurant with a traditional menu. Access can be made through a
    floodlit walkway, made of metal, on which tourists can walk the 250 meters that
    are available for visiting.


    Coming here, every year,
    are tens of thousands of tourists who are simply impressed by the legend of
    this cave. Briefly, it is about two outlaws, Fulga and
    Budac. The two outlaws stole the fortunes from the rich and gave them to the poor.
    So the legend is very interesting for those who come over. However, the most important tourist assets with us
    remain the tourist trekking routes, especially in Piatra Craiului, since it is
    one of the most spectacular mountains.


    If you intend to plan a holiday in Dambovicioara in 2024,
    it is advisable that you get there when a local event is held. Palm Sunday, The
    Assumption of Saint Mary, but also December 1st, the National Day of
    Romania, are an opportunity for a great feast or holiday. Also, another local event
    that has been very successful in recent years, an event which began in 2016, is
    the Day of the Peasant Embroidered Blouse, the ie in Romanian, staged on June
    24.


    It is a very interesting day,
    as the guests make contact with the people of the community, and it is also a
    merry-making opportunity. We have succeeded, together with the people in the region,
    to remind tourists of the simplicity of the days of yore, to better present the
    traditions that are specific to the region. By and large, the key element in
    all these activities has been the contact tourists had with the people in the
    region. We are here with our arms wide open for you, in a bid to show you the
    beauty of the region, to speak about us, to tell our story to the best of our
    abilities and, of course, to make you enjoy quiet and relaxing stay.


    So here we have a destination for all nature lovers, a
    destination where you can see unique assets, where you get to know special people and where you can charge your batteries for the whole year.

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    Mountain peaks have always posed a challenge for the human being,
    Notwithstanding, it was not until 1950 that the first over-8,000m peak was
    climbed by man. Back then the French Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal climbed the Annapurna peak in the Himalayas.
    Being able to climb at such an altitude has remained, to this day, a great
    performance. Last week such a performance was reiterated by a
    Romanian. Climber Horia Colibăşanu this past Saturday succeeded to climb Broad
    Peak in the Karakorum Massif, on the Pakistani-Chinese border, at an altitude
    of 8, 051 meters. Colibasanu succeeded that with no help from the sherpas and
    with no extra supply of oxygen. For 2023, it was Romanian climbing’s greatest
    performance. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Horia
    Colibăşanu the Athlete of the week.


    The Broad Peak 2023 Expedition was a project
    carried by the Timisoara-based Alternatives Sports Club, affiliated to the
    Romanian Climbing and Escalade Federation. Horia Colibasanu has been a member of, for so many years now. The Romanian set
    off from Bucharest on June 26, heading towards the Pakistani city of Islamabad. From there, he went to Askole, on the Karakorum
    main road, which is part of the ancient Silk Road. From there, he went trekking
    for a week, to the base camp. Then the ascension towards the Broad Peak followed,
    a peak formerly known as K3, a peak separated, to the north, from the spectacular
    K2 by the Godwin – Austen glacier.


    Broad Peak was the tenth over-8,000m peak Horia Colibăsanu has escalated
    in his career. Also, he took part in 25 international expeditions, being the most
    accomplished Romanian in high-altitude climbing. Horia still remains the
    only Romanian to have reached the K2 and Daulagiri peaks, rated among the world’s
    most dangerous such peaks. In 2017, Horia Colibasanu climbed Everest with no sherpas
    and no extra supply of oxygen. Of the 6,000 successful ascensions of Everest,
    less than two hundred were made with no extra supply of oxygen, a performance
    considered impossible until 1978.

  • Romania’s breathtaking landscapes: past into present

    Romania’s breathtaking landscapes: past into present


    Were heading, today, towards Hateg Country, a historical and ethnographical region. Putting to good use all the assets of the region, here we can find the Hateg Countrys Dinosaurs Geopark. It is a UNESCO site, currently under the administration of the University of Bucharest. It is a realm of authentic stories, based on scientific research and made sense of in a language which is accessible to the lay public. University lecturer Dr Alexandru Andrasanu is the coordinator of UNESCOs International Geoparks program. He will be our guide today.



    “The geopark actually encompasses the entire Hateg Country. It is a UNESCO international brand, including 12 localities in Hunedoara County, in south-western Transylvania, It is part of an international network of 177 territories in 46 countries. Were proud we are Romanias first UNESCO site. The land of Buzau is soon to be the second UNESCO site. So we have a precious heritage, nay, we have a territory where the story of the earth blends into the story of the people”.



    The nature area was officially declared a Nature Park in 2004. Since 2005, the geopark has gained acceptance in the European Geoparks Network and in the Global Network. It was South-eastern Europes geopark to have been granted this international status, in 2005. Here is Dr Alexandru Andrasanu once again, with details on that.



    “The scientific activity proper began more than 100 years ago, when the first dinosaur bones were discovered. Then there were also the dinosaur eggs that were completed by the fossil remains of several animals that used to live here more than 70 million years ago. Of course, the most interesting are the famous Transylvanian dwarf dinosaurs. They are called dwarfs because an island used to be here 70 million years ago. The dinosaurs, in millions of years, had become smaller than their relatives, yet they were more interesting. With them, we find a great many other remains, from flying reptiles, to turtles, lizards, mammals. It is a fascinating story of the Earth, and a one-of-a-kind story, at that. Starting off from the scientific story, we went the whole hog and built the international geopark, which is an entire territory in its own right, where science blends into peoples legends, into the landscape. Also, we should not overlook the fact that the Hateg Country comes up with discovery and educational routes.”



    The area has become increasingly tourism-prone, yet it is not mass tourism were having. It is “discovery tourism”, according to university lecturer Dr Alexandru Andrasanu, the coordinator of UNESCOs International Geoparks program.



    “We can discover nature, the people, the landscapes. By “nature” I mean Hateg Country, the Retezat and Sureanu Mountains we can see around us. But then we can travel to Hunedoara, Deva, or to Sarmisegetusa Regia. The routes are quite diverse. We, for instance, can suggest a route along the Dinosaurs Valley. As of late, apart from the spots we ourselves have arranged, where the first dinosaur bones were discovered, a fun park has been opened, promoting the dinosaurs of Transylvania. There are replicas of a couple of dozens of dinosaurs and other elements of attraction. Also, we tell the Volcanoes Tale. You can also take a route including the 12th century church in Densus and the Volcanoes House. Here children and adults alike can participate in specific educational activities so they can find out more on the volcanoes that used to erupt here, in the dinosaurs time. “



    However, you can also choose routes where nature blends into tradition. Dr Alexandru Andrășanu



    “You can visit the 13th century Calvinist-Reformed Church in Sântămăria-Orlea, a daffodils glade, the recently-restored 14th century Malaiesti fortress. Then you can head towards the Retezat National Park Visiting Centre. And, if you travel a little bit further than Hateg Country, you can take the route to Pestera Bolii, the Sickness Cave and to Petrosani. There are routes taking you to our exhibition, the Geopark House, where we can discover a story about griffins, dragons and dinosaurs. Then you can take the route to the ruins of the Roman fortress in Sarmisegetusa Ulpia Traiana or the Ostrov Church, founded in 1360, or to Clopotiva, a traditional village, or to Cetatea de la Colți, which are very beautiful. Then, if you come from the Prislop Monastery, in Hunedoara you can hit the Corvins Castle. A tourist arriving in the Hateg Country can visit a number of assets, can take up trekking routes, can climb the Retezat Mountains, by foot or by bike. The scenery is definitely rural, it is a depression surrounded by mountains. Right now I am here and there is still snow in Retezat. It is a fairy-tale scenery.”



    For more info on the routes, you can visit the parks Internet page, at hategeoparc.ro. There is also a Facebook page and an Instagram account. Those who reach Hateg can have a stopover at the information centre and the exhibition of griffins, dragons and dinosaurs, where there also is a reconstruction of the regions most ferocious dinosaur. It is the Bondoc Griffin, bearing a Romanian name.



    The area is continuously growing, but not necessarily in terms of number of tourists, but in terms of attractions and diversity of activities. With details on that, here is University lecturer Dr Alexandru Andrasanu, the coordinator of UNESCOs International Geoparks program.



    “The partnership we have with the Countys Tourism Promotion Directorate is very close. The latters development vision includes our geopark as well. On one hand, our projects target a more extended area in our county, on the other hand, were encouraged to use the new technology, the augmented reality in order to fill in what cannot always be explained in words, all the more so as we speak about lost worlds. Therefore, we try to give visitors the chance to enrich what they see with reconstructions based on scientific research. The geopark is administered by the University of Bucharest, and underlying all our projects are the scientific results of our colleagues, but also of researchers in other universities, from Romania and around the world.”



    So here is a destination for all, but mostly for families. There are a great many children who come here with parents and grandparents, mainly because they want to find out the story of the dinosaurs, the volcanoes the plants and the mountains.


    (EN)