The third Sunday of July, thousands of Romanians in traditional clothes descend to the Gaina Mountain hoping to meet that special someone.
The celebration can be explained by the fact that the inhabitants of the Apuseni Mountains are scattered and their homes are far apart. The houses are kilometers away from each other and divided by the mountains. However it is also the mountains that kept the people together.
Throughout history, people established a convenient meeting place to enable them to meet and keep in touch.
But of course, due to its natural beauties, traditional customs and cultural background, Gaina Mountain itself is a wonderful attraction. Although the climate is generally mild (due also to the fact that there are no strong winds) the differences in heights determine the climate diversity; thus, the northern and eastern slopes of the Hen (Gaina) Mountain are covered with snow from November till April.
DAY 1
Arrival in Bucharest. Dinner and accommodation at 4* Hotel.
DAY 2
After breakfast, departure to”Gaina” Mountain. Dinner and accommodation at a local family’s house. You will enjoy having dinner with the locals, the Romanian people are famous for their hospitality. You will taste the national drink “tuica”, a plum brandy, and the local wine.
DAY 3
Early in the morning, a group of local maidens signal the opening of the fair with huge alpenhorns. The preparations for the fair begin one week before, but when the “big day” comes, the locals start to walk on the at top of Mount Gaina(roughly 33km west of Campeni) at 4 o’clock in the morning to arrange their hand-made home tools and agricultural tools in order to welcome the tourists. After selling their goods, the locals participate in some interesting competitions, and have fun playing local games. It is the largest festival in the region. After they have bargained for their girls, they have lunch (more of a picnic) and sing with the bands, drinking the well-known tuica (plum brandy). Then they start dancing the “hora” (a local dance). You will enjoy the party, tasting the local food, dances and traditions. In the late afternoon, visit to the Avram Iancu memorial house and Museum, a popular architecture monument. Departure back to the local family’s houseand have dinner.
DAY 4
Departure early in the morning, to visit the most beautiful natural jewels of the Apuseni Mountains. The inhabitants of this region are called ”Moti”. We visit Campeni, the unofcial capital of the ”Moti” area and an important center of the Revolution of 1848. The statue of Avram Iancu (leader of the revolutionaries) can be found there, as well as many 150-200 year-old houses. The journey continues to Scarisoara, to visit the Glacier of Scarisoara Cave, which is the biggest Romanian ice cave and has a mass of 75.000 mc of ice. Further on, you will be impressed by the landscape when passing through Garda village to arrive at The Bears’ Cave, the biggest natural cemetery of cave bears. Departure to Stei, and Beius, in order to get to Meziad. The road from Beiuş to Meziad gets narrower and narrower. Visit of the Meziad Cave. The cave has three levels; the main passage is the middle level. It has numerous huge stalactites on the ceiling of the main passage. Departure back to Avram Iancu locality. Nice dinner and accommodation.
DAY 5
Departure to Brad, and visit to the Gold Museum of the Barza mines that showcases the mining history of Romania, at the same time showing the minerals derived from the mines of the region, from Maramures and The Iron Ocna, as well as the native gold samples found in the Apuseni Mountains. Departure to Deva, a beautiful and modern city with a rich historical background. The major attraction in Deva is the citadel built on the top of a mountain, a natural volcanic truncated cone, dominating the surroundings. Then passing through Alba Iulia, a very old city which celebrated 2000 years of existence in 1975, we arrive in the evening in Sibiu, the most important city of the county of Sibiu and one of the famous Saxon’s Transylvanian old Cities. Dinner and accommodation at a 3* Hotel.
DAY 6
Departure to Bucharest, through Curtea de Arges – the rst capital of Walachia in the 14th century. Visit of Curtea de Arges Monastery - one of the most precious treasures of Romanian medieval art and architecture. Dinner and accommodation at a 4* Hotel.
DAY 7
After breakfast, city tour of Bucharest, where we can visit the Palace of Parliament (former Palace of Socialism during Ceausescu’s dictatorship - second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon), the Patriarchal church, the Village Museum etc. Departure back home in the afternoon.
• 3* and 4* accommodation
• all transfers included
• Professional guide
• half board
• typical lunches or dinners
• entrance fees to museums
1. The maximum no. of guests is 12, because of the limited accommodation available.
2. The program can be changed according to the ightdetails (arriving place, date and hours).
3. For further information please contact: Cultural Romtour, ofce@culturalromtour.ro
