CASTLES AND SAXON HERITAGE IN TRANSYLVANIA	price from 815 €
Romania - Leisure cycling - 12 days

Transylvania, surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, was also a much sought for land. That is how the Saxons arrived here in the 11th century to guard the Carpathian Mountains passes between Transylvania and Wallachia against the Tatars and the Ottomans. But this is just a hint of the rich heritage that you will discover during this entire trip. An exceptional biking holiday is waiting for you!

Program

Day 1 Arrival in Bucharest Arrival in Bucharest Northern Train Station before 2 PM. Train transfer to Zarnesti. Change in Brasov. 2nd train transfer to Zarnesti. Dinner at your guesthouse.

Day 2 First day of biking to Fagaras Transfer in the morning with your bikes at the starting point of your ride. You will ride at the foot of Fagaras Mountains, the highest of the Romanian Carpathians and also known as the 'Transylvanian Alps'. (BLD, ~55 km)

Day 3 Riding through the Transylvanian plateau Today you will ride through the Transylvanian plateau till the medieval city of Sibiu, elected “European cultural capital” in 2007. (BL, ~62 km)

Day 4 Sibiu Free morning so you can visit Sibiu, known also as Hermannstadt. You will discover the three historic squares, the evangelic church, the lower and the upper town, the citadel and so many other charming corners of one of the best-preserved medieval cities. The ride from this afternoon will take you to few villages around Sibiu. In one of them you will spend the night. (BD, ~27 km)

Day 5 Sibiu and surroundings You will cycle today forward these beautiful villages from Marginimea Sibiului, vestiges of a glorious past. Then you will continue the cycling day through oak forests till the salty lakes from Ocna Sibiului. Possible swim in a salty water pool. (BLD, ~45 km)

Day 6 Fortified churches and medieval cities You will ride to the medieval pretty town of Medias, with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. There are opportunities for several detours (between 5 and 18 kilometres) to visit Saxon fortified churches. One of them, Valea Viilor, deserves more than the others to be visited. Here the church is frequented by few remaining Saxons in the area. Frau Schneider, the oldest Saxon from the village will be very honoured to show you around. (BL, ~52 km)

Day 7 Cycling to Sighisoara citadel This cycling day will allow you to discover other treasures from Transylvania. You’re first stop will be Biertan fortified church, part of UNESCO Heritage, which has graced the country for over a half of century. Then you move on to Sighisoara, one of the few medieval citadels in Europe that is still fully inhabited and also included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage. Discover the old town with its famous clock tower, which initially served as the main entrance to the citadel, but also covered stairs, medieval streets, the house where Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad the Impaler known by Bram Stocker’s legend as Dracula, was born (B, 2 rides available: ~48 or 66 km). You can take an extra-night so you can enjoy this beautiful citadel.

Day 8 Transylvanian countryside Today you will cycle through the Transylvanian hills to Apold village which also has a lovely fortified church. Then you will arrive in Soars village where you will spend the night. The country road will take you to remote and bucolic areas where you will surely see shepherds watching over their sheep herds. (BD, ~50 km)

Day 9 Riding to the South You will ride to the South, till a small typical village cold Ohaba where you can enjoy at the end of the day the visit the oldest flour mill in the county powered by a water mill. (BLD, ~34 km)

Day 10 Riding back to Zarnesti You will ride to Zarnesti along a valley that separates 2 ranges of mountains so close and so different. One is Persani mountains, small charming and hiding traditional villages and scattered houses, the other one are Fagaras Mountains, seen from another angle. (BLD, ~42 km)

Day 11 In the heart of Piatra Craiului mountains In your last day of cycling in Transylvania will bring you at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains, a border place between Transylvania and Wallachia. As a protection of this frontier the inhabitants build the Bran Castle, also known as Dracula’s Castle. Even if it wasn’t the real castle of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), it belonged later to another famous person, Queen Maria, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and of Tsar Nicholas II. Optional ride to visit the Rasnov Castle, around 15 kilometres away from Bran. Night in the same place as the previous night (BLD, ~ 35 km).

Day 12 Departure to Bucharest Departure to Bucharest after the breakfast. End of the trip.