This was a fantastic trip with a great variety of hikes, balanced nicely by a handful of slower-paced cultural and wildlife experiences throughout the week. The Carpathian Mountains are absolutely beautiful and still feel untouched compared to many of Europe’s more famous hiking destinations. The scenery is stunning, the villages are charming, and the whole region feels authentic and welcoming.
Carpathian Mountains Tours
Carpathian Mountains Transylvania Trips
Trips to the upspoilt Carpathian Mountains are a fresh take on wildlife and conservation holidays. They form the eastern wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe, curving 1500km along the borders of Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Serbia and northern Hungary. History and geography conspired to make Transylvania in central Romania one of Europe’s most beautifully wild and fascinating regions.
For centuries the locals have existed in harmony with a variety of wildlife, including Europe’s highest concentration of wolves, lynx and bears – almost half the European population of brown bears is recorded in the Carpathian Mountains. Meanwhile, dense forests have remained largely untouched. There are spectacular canyons, virgin forests and fairytale Saxon villages to explore too, making Carpathian Mountains tours perfect for hikers as well as wildlife lovers.
Our Best Carpathian Mountains Transylvania Tours
Shaelene Chapman Carpathian Walking & Bears
Bruce Bongarten Summits of the Transylvanian AlpsI was attracted to this trip in large part because it promised a fair bit of scrambling, and it did not disappoint (see other reviewers comments). Great fun. The expectation of minimal crowds was also an attraction, and that did not disappoint either. Other highlights including seeing a bear in the wild and the food and hospitality at Villa Hermani. Finally, our guide, Sebi, was outstanding — a capable guy who was also great company.
victoria glendinning Summits of the Transylvanian AlpsTransylvania is a fantastic destination for hiking with stunning scenery, fabulous views, and so many wildflowers.
The areas we hiked in felt remote and unspoilt. We saw very few hikers on the routes we took and even had one of the mountain huts to ourselves.
As some of the other reviews say, this is a challenging week and requires a good head for heights (some parts are very exposed) and a good level of fitness. The days are long (8-10 hours of walking on the first three days, 6 hours on the last three days as the walks were cut short to avoid afternoon storms) which means little ‘down time’. The terrain is varied (rocks and scree, pastures, meadows, forests).
A significant amount of scrambling is required the first three days, and in particular the third when heading up to La Om. The other days don’t require scrambling but are still demanding in terms of the terrain and elevation gain/loss.
Two nights are spent in simple huts, with basic facilities (outside drop toilets), but the location of Cabana Malaiesti is spectacular as well worth it.
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