3 Days Hiking Tour: Transbucegi/ The Sphynx/ One mountain cabin of your choice/ 7 Ladders Canyon – Departure from Bucharest

3 Days
new-day-trips

3 DAYS Hiking Tour Romania

new-day-trips

3 DAYS Hiking Tour Romania

It is no longer a secret that Romania has many absolutely enchanting places, just waiting to be admired by the curious eye of tourists. If you are passionate about mountain hiking, we invite you to join us on this 3-day trip, where you can admire the beauties of Romania.

The trip we suggest is suitable for people with an average physical condition. The proposed tours are easy and can be done by almost anyone who has the right equipment.

Here is how the route goes:

Day 1: Bucharest – Transbucegi – The Sphynx – The Heroes’s Cross on Caraiman Peak (2384 m) / 3-4 hours of hiking

On the first day we propose a unique mountain excursion in the Bucegi Mountains. We will pick you up from Bucharest around morning. This way we make sure we have enough time to do everything we want to do.

The road will take us to the Bucegi Mountains, which we will approach by car initially, driving on the road called Transbugeci.

Alongside the Transfăgărășan and the Transalpina, the Transbucegi road is of particular beauty. It is also known as the “Babelor Road” and connects Sinaia and Cabana Piatra Arsă.

As its name suggests, Transbucegi crosses the Bucegi plateau and follows the route Cabana Cuibu Dorului – Șaua Dichiului. At the end, it stops in Dâmbovița county, at the Piatra Arsă hut. The road was inaugurated in 2013, is 20 kilometres long, but is quite narrow.

The road eventually takes us to Piatra Arsa Hut, from where we will walk to the famous Sphinx. The road is easy, and can be covered easily and leisurely in a day.

The Sphinx and the Babele (”the Old Ladies”) are considered the true symbols of the Bucegi Mountains. Shaped like mushrooms or human faces, in the case of the Sphinx, they are rock formations located near the Baba Mare peak (2292 meters), formed by the differentiated aeolian erosion of the different geological strata in which they are carved and are found in the immediate vicinity of the chalet with the same name. The Babele hut, an important tourist attraction, is the central starting point for many hikes in the Bucegi Mountains, and the cable car that passes through here contributes to this.

Sphinx legends

The legends and stories surrounding it are no exception either. One legend has it that this was once the powerhouse of extraterrestrial beings long ago. What’s more, a cave has been discovered nearby. Following studies, it has been declared as the nucleus of some special energy mysteries. This has intrigued and attracted the attention of those interested in the subject.

Other interesting stories revolving around the sphinx emerge from the following variants:

  • There is said to be a uranium mine here, dormant since World War II.
  • It’s where Decebal sacrificed his son to the gods.
  • Between the Bucegi Sphinx and the Egyptian Sphinx there is a three-dimensional tunnel
  • It represents the guardian of an unknown treasure
  • It represents our oldest sacred symbol

Every year on 28 November, dozens of people climb the Sphinx to take part in a unique event. This is the day of the year when Bucegi hosts the most tourists. Many rumours claim that at sunset they could see an energetic pyramid around the anthropomorphic figure. Not only did they see the sun’s rays in action, but they also captured the energy of the place and the moment.

After admiring the Sphinx and Babele, we set off to the Caraiman Peak to reach the Cross of Heroes.

The Cross of the Heroes of the Nation or “Cross of the Caraiman” is a monument built between 1926 and 1928 on Mount Caraiman, at an altitude of 2291 m, to honour the memory of the heroes of the nation who fell in the First World War. At the base of Caraiman is the town of Bușteni.

After this tour we will go back the way we came, back to the car, and from there to Brasov. Here you will be able to spend the first night at your accommodation. Be prepared because the second day is coming soon!

Day 2: Choose your preferred Mountain Cabin: Curmătura or Mălăiești / 5 hours of hiking)

On the second day you can choose to visit one of the two most popular and admired mountain huts in Transylvania. Alternatively, depending on the weather, we can make this decision together. The huts we suggest are the Malaiesti Hut, located in the Bucegi Mountains, or the Curmatura Hut, in the Piatra Craiului Mountains.

Cabana Malaiesti is probably one of the most photographed huts in the Bucegi Mountains. Anyone who follows social media groups of mountain lovers sees dozens of photos of it every weekend, from all accessible angles.

Malaiesti was the first hut built in the Bucegi Mountains, in 1882. Today the hut can accommodate 100 people, in rooms with 3, 4, 6, 9 and 14 beds. And, although you are in the mountains, you can eat a soup or a hot soup prepared by the Adamuta family or drink a cold beer on the winding mountain roads, carried by vigorous horses, all the way from Busteni or Brasov.

If you have other thoughts, you should know that it is strictly forbidden to use any motorized transport. In the evening, electricity is provided until 22:00 by a generator, and after this time, the light comes from the bonfires, around which the campers gather and play the guitar.

Curmătura on the other hand is a hut at the foot of the Piatra Craiului mountains. It’s remote for the traveller unaccustomed to the mountains and trails, and close for mountain walkers.

You can only get to Curmătura on the trails. There are several that connect the road between Râșnov and the village of Măgura to this place. The best known one starts at Botorog’s well, a place you can always find fresh and good water. There are a few more that start from the road, but from beyond the Prăpăstiile Zărneștilor (another wonderful place to see) and there’s also a forest road, impassable for cars, but friendlier for beginner hikers.

In winter you’ll find nothing but peace and quiet and the whiteness of big snows. The Curmătura hut is welcoming and always warm. In the warm season, if you arrive early in the day, you’ll still find cottage cheese pie. It’s fantastic, you’ll always remember it and when you go to Piatra Craiului again you’ll go for this pie too. Cabana Curmătura is famous for its cheese pie.

If the roads take you to Bran and you feel you want a little more, more nature and more fresh air, go to Zărnești or Peștera and take the trails to Curmătura, they will comfort your soul.

Day 3: 7 Ladders Canyon and return to Bucharest (optional) / 3 hours of hiking

On the third day we propose a special mountain tour, with special landscapes, only 3 hours this time. It’s an adrenaline cleanse, beauties of waterfalls, rock walls several tens of meters high and climbing vertical stairs of 15 meters.

We leave the car at the beginning of the forest road and after 40 minutes we reach the toll point for access to the canyon. Also there we encounter one of the longest zip line systems in the world, which can bring us back to near where we parked the car. This step is, of course, optional, and is reserved only for the bravest.

The ladders that help tourists enter the spectacular world of cliffs and waterfalls have recently been replaced with modern and very safe ones.

The ladders range in height from 2 to 10 metres and lead you through a very spectacular rocky labyrinth.

The 7 Stairs creek in the Piatra Mare Mountains created this marvel, and the name comes from the 7 steps of the canyon that you reach using the mounted stairs.

The 7 Stairs canyon is short, about 200 metres long, but extremely spectacular.

When the water flow is very high prepare to get wet as some of the stairs to the next higher step go right up past the waterfall.

Don’t be discouraged though as this tourist attraction is very accessible to any tourist and well worth a visit!

For the return – we can return the same way we came or use the zip line system.

After completing this adventure we are ready to get in the car and drive to Bucharest. Alternatively, you can stay more days in Brasov, in which case you will be taken back to your accommodation in town.

The price includes:

2 nights accommodation in a double room with breakfast included at a 3 star hotel in Brasov (for a single room there is an extra 50 lei tax (approximately 10 EUR) per person per night, NOT included in the general price)
Entrance tickets at the canyon, National Park or other places we may visit
Transportation with a modern, spacious and comfortable SUV or van, depending on the number of people joining
Authorized, English-speaking mountain guide
Free pick-up and drop-off from and to Bucharest (optional; we may also meet directly in Brasov if you’re already here)
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Not included:

Medical insurance
Meals such as lunches, dinners
Other services not mentioned in the description above
Video/photo taxes at the canyon and other local areas/places that we will visit
Banking or e-payment fees

Prices:

One person – 4069 lei
Two – 2199 lei / person
Three – Four – 1869 lei / person
Five – ∞ – 1589 lei / person

* Currently we can only accept online bookings for a maximum of 8 people. If your group is larger than 8, please contact us by email, by phone, or by using the contact form here. We are able to accommodate larger groups as well, if we discuss privately beforehand.

    You can send your enquiry via the form below.


    You can send your enquiry via the form below.

    3 Days Hiking Tour: Transbucegi/ The Sphynx/ One mountain cabin of your choice/ 7 Ladders Canyon – Departure from Bucharest
    Group Discount Available
    From 1,589.00 lei
    / Person