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/ blog / The Last Time I Follow Dan Up A Romanian Mountain

The Last Time I Follow Dan Up A Romanian Mountain

May 28, 2015 by Silvia 36 Comments

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When I think Romania, I think vampires mountains, so I couldn’t wait to pull on my hiking boots and explore them for a few days! After about a billion Google Image searches Dan and I decided that Piatra Craiulu National Park has the prettiest peaks so we stuck out our thumbs and grabbed a ride down to Zarnesti.

Actually we caught a ride to Brasov, and then hopped on a tiny electric commuter train to Zarnesti. The ride took about an hour and was BEAUTIFUL. I tried to convince Dan to scrap this hiking idea and just ride the train back and forth all day, but apparently he had bigger plans for us.

Much bigger.

Piatra Craiului Peaks Romania

Would I come to regret following Dan up that mountain and wish I were still on that little train? NO. Well, maybe. Actually, yes.

You see, while Romania has some gorgeous mountains with tons of hiking trails, there’s very little information (at least in English) about those trails. I searched for ages for details – or even just a map of the park – but came up empty. And then we tried to find Piatra Craiului National Park’s Visitor Center in Zarnesti, but the spot marked on Google Maps turned out to be… a barn?

The cows and horses didn’t have anything helpful to say to us, so we headed into the park on our own. (It turns out we just needed to continue on that road another 20-30 minutes out of town, whoops).

Luckily there was a map at the start of the park, so we picked the yellow route and headed up! It was a really steep hike, but after about an hour we reached the prettiest mountain meadow, so it was worth it. (Plus we had lunch, so it was like, actually worth it.)

piatra craiului national park

piatra craiului national park

Piatra Craiului Park Romania

Piatra Craiului Park Romania

Piatra Craiului Mountains Romania

Tummy and my camera’s memory card both nicely filled, I turned to walk back down the mountain. And was stopped by Dan because apparently the real hike hadn’t started yet.

We were going to the Piatra Craiului peaks!

Did it matter that thick clouds were descending? They only made the hike more magical!

hiking in Romania

hiking in Romania

Piatra Craiului Mountains Romania

So, the route we chose up to one of the peaks was beautiful and so, so worth it, but I’m pretty sure we also accidentally were on a rock climbing route. Of course I can’t be sure because there is zero information about this hike online, but we were climbing vertically for a lot of it – at least we had those helpful bolts to hang onto!

hiking in Romania

hiking in Romania

hiking in Romania

hiking in Romania

After seeing all the views that needed to be seen, we headed back to Zarnesti through a gorge!

hiking in Romania

It was fun, until the sun started to disappear alarmingly quickly and we found ourselves on a steep slope of frozen snow. It was one of those times I was happy no longer to be traveling solo, as Dan basically had to carry me down the gorge.

Yet still somehow I was the one who couldn’t walk for several days afterwards. I swear I’m going to join a gym when I get to Norway. (I’m not, but I will be going on a lot more hikes!)

We spent another day in Zarnesti, and if you take a look at where it is on a map I know what you’re going to think: “Great, so you had time to visit Bran Castle (aka Dracula’s Castle)!”

Um, no. We spent the day in bed binge watching Treme. Didn’t I already mention the sore muscles? Even two days later I could barely walk with my backpack on.

It was a shame to miss Bran Castle, especially when it was only 10 kilometers away from our guest house, but I was actually way more interested in seeing Corvin Castle.

You see, while Bran Castle is famous for being Dracula’s Castle, Vlad III only visited a few times. On the other hand, Vlad was held prisoner in Corvin Castle for 7 years. Even more visit worthy though: legend has it that Corvin Castle was never taken by enemies because anyone who approached was overwhelmed by ominous feelings. Because it’s haunted. 

A hitchhiking fail + a lot of rain meant that we ended up missing Corvin Castle and heading straight to Timisoara instead, but it’s at the top of my list for my return to Romania!

 

In Zarnesti we stayed at at Pensiunea Garofita in a huge double room. It’s a really pretty wooden lodge run by the sweetest couple, and makes the perfect base to explore Piatra Craiului National Park. And there may even be a yellow lab named Maximus living there. Maybe! Check current rates for Pensiunea Garofita here

 

 

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Comments

  1. Patricia says

    May 28, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    The views are amazing! It looks like a very adventurous hike, mainly the snowy slope!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:49 pm

      The views really were spectacular. One of my favorite hikes of the trip! Well, until I couldn’t walk the next day(s)…

      Reply
  2. Emily S says

    May 28, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    That sounds like an extreme hike! I don’t think I would have made it! Looks like it was worth it though. Those pics are amazing!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:49 pm

      I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I couldn’t walk for days afterwards – I don’t think I’ve ever had sore muscles for that long! But it was worth it.

      Reply
      • Deborah K Earnest says

        May 25, 2018 at 5:53 pm

        Take l-glutamine a couple weeks before, about 1-2 tsps a day and your muscle soreness and recovery will be significantly decreased by about 90%. Body builders use it for that purpose. Get the powder (cheapest) and mix with water, it’s tasteless and will help you tremendously.

        Reply
  3. Jane M says

    May 29, 2015 at 1:43 am

    Sounds like a fun / slightly harrowing kind of day. At least you got lunch – I always say the real point of any hike is getting to eat!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:50 pm

      YES. My thoughts exactly!

      Reply
  4. Neysha says

    May 29, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    Bahahaha Silvia! This post made me laugh the entire time and simultaneously made me homesick for Romania even though I’ve never been. It’s so beautiful! (And I really want to visit Dracula’s castle. Like really, really bad).

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:50 pm

      You neeeed to go to Romania! It’s so, so special. And I need to return!

      Reply
  5. Rebekah says

    May 29, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    I can’t believe you guys went up a rock climbing route! not being able to find good hiking information is really annoying. I don’t think missing Bran castle is too heartbreaking. Its pretty….but there are definitely better places to see. I always feel guilty when I skip big sights because I’m tired so I’m glad I’m not the only one who does that

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:51 pm

      Haha I’m glad I’m not the only one either! And I’m glad you said missing Bran isn’t so bad – other travelers were shocked when we said we skipped it, especially while being so close.

      Reply
  6. Yosemite says

    May 29, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    UGH DAN YOU WOULD

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 1, 2015 at 9:55 pm

      Boys.

      Reply
  7. Laura @ Bottled Air says

    May 30, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Ha! Last time I followed someone (Will) up a mountain we got so lost we had to sleep in a tiny Burmese village in the house of strangers. Was still fun though! 😀

    This Romanian mountain looks awesome. And makes me miss Europe and its amazing nature! 🙂

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 11:44 am

      Haha typical boys, always making us do adventurous things!

      Reply
  8. jennifer says

    May 31, 2015 at 1:14 am

    We all know you are going to be back in Romania (to open a hostel with dogs) so missing the castles isn’t that big of a deal.

    I would have laid down and died if I accidentally found myself on the rock climbing path. Or fallen and died. I have panic attacks walking down uneven steps (stems from falling down them at Longsheng rice terraces) so a rock climbing path? Would. Not. Survive.

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 11:47 am

      Haha you’re right! Um, I also sometimes have serious trouble walking down stairs. If the staircase is really long I panic halfway down and have to go super slowly haha.

      Reply
  9. Camille says

    May 31, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    Hahaha hilarious post (I mean not hilarious that you went on a crazy hike that left you bed-ridden, but I love the way you wrote about it!). Such a shame that you missed Corvin Castle though!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 11:47 am

      It was a shame! I need to go back to Romania, I guess 🙂

      Reply
  10. Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki says

    June 2, 2015 at 9:01 am

    Those views are just amazing! I am always finding myself following the boy and then stuck up somewhere high up to scared to get down. Darn those adventurous boys 😉

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 11:49 am

      Seriously, boys!

      Reply
  11. Erin says

    June 2, 2015 at 9:19 am

    I love all your posts from Eastern Europe. Hiking in Romania looks so beautiful!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 11:49 am

      Romania was such a great place to hike!

      Reply
  12. becky hutner says

    June 9, 2015 at 8:28 am

    How dare you miss Corvin Castle! You are fired travel blogger, fired I say.

    Just kidding, I love your binge-watching admissions almost as much as your reviews of famous sites. “Travel Bloggers, they’re just like us…”

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 11, 2015 at 12:00 pm

      Haha sometimes travel bloggers run out of steam…

      Reply
  13. Katelyn Bierl says

    May 9, 2016 at 3:13 am

    This looks amazing!! I’m curious how long the hike took you and where you started? My husband and I are headed there this summer and based on your pictures it looks like you’re on the blue dot trail which, believe it or not, I actually found the tiniest bit of information about in a Lonely Planet book! I’d love to do this hike! Thanks for the great posts!

    Reply
  14. Cosmin says

    August 25, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    Oh… Such nice but painful memories from my hike on Piatra Craiului Crest. But you do feel like you are on the roof of the world.

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      August 30, 2016 at 12:14 pm

      Haha glad I wasn’t the only one in pain!

      Reply
  15. Adina says

    February 7, 2017 at 11:50 pm

    Nice story! Pity you didn’t ask for some advice before going. Or maybe the best, since you went to some great places! 🙂
    Piatra Craiului are one of the most spectacular mountains of Romania, but also have some of the most difficult paths, with a higher degree of technical difficulties, although they are touristic trails.

    Reply
  16. Carina says

    September 19, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    Hey, you should check out the “muntii nostri” app. It details every trail in some mountains in romania, including piatra craiului. In the settings you can choose english. And there are some blogs about the trails, in romanian but you can translate in google tr. So blogul alexandrei for example and some hiking trails are described by the youtube vlogger – pe poteci spre inima ta. Hope it helps!

    Reply
  17. Ramona says

    November 23, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Hi Silvia!
    I am so proud to read such beautiful reviews about Romania and it’s mountains. I hope you will come back soon and I promise to give you any information you might need about the routes or you can even join me on one of my hikes. Until then, just know that you route you took was to Piatra Mica (part of Piatra Craiului Mountains) and it’s not a climbing route, but a difficult hiking route. You should have reached a big metallic cross, but I don’t see it in your photos, so I guess you didn’t go all the way.
    The mountains are wonderful and wild in Romania and everyone should plan a hike while they are here. The scenery is amazing, but be careful about the route you choose so that it is according to your fit and your scrambling abilities.
    All my best wishes!

    Reply
  18. Andre Pur says

    April 22, 2018 at 9:45 am

    Hello,
    We really loved your blog, and since it was written back in 2015, you couldn’t find info about the trails also maps, but in 2016 Zarnesti opened a Tourist Info Center in the center of the town( where you can also find maps and alot of infos about Zarnesti and Piatra Craiului, stop here first on the next vacation). Also in 2016 The National Park opened a visitor Center which is a museum and also a good info center too for tourists. We reccommend to visit this!
    Also we do have a travel site for Zarnesti-Piatra Craiului area, where you can also find downloadable hiking maps, visit us on http://www.visitzarnesti.ro.
    Such a pitty you stayed indoor after the hike, yes it was a hard one for beginners, instead you should visited the uniq Bears Reservation inZarnesti( is the largest bear reservation in Europe, it helds more than 100 bears).
    Maybe next time;)

    Reply
  19. Louana says

    July 29, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    I stumbled across your blog and I saw your post, actually I am a romanian and I did the trail you did. The Piatra Craiului Mountains are very hard to hike, are trails are like that, involving a lot of climbing. But in the future maybe ask a local about hiking spots 😁 and check other mountains like Bucegi or the highest peak in Romania, Moldoveanu. 😄

    Reply
  20. Kate says

    March 21, 2019 at 11:47 pm

    What time of year was this?

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      March 24, 2019 at 1:23 pm

      This was in May

      Reply
  21. StanHikes says

    July 22, 2022 at 1:05 am

    Got some great pictures

    Reply

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Once a full-time nomad, I'm now trying to find a balance between continuing to explore off the beaten path places around the world while also building a home in Norway. Want to know more? Head to my About page!

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