Romania Landscape Photo Tour – 12 days

Tour Map

Day 1
BUCHAREST

Arrival in Bucharest – the capital of Romania. Pick-up from the airport and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. In the evening you meet your tour guide for a first dinner.

Overnight in Bucharest.

Day 2
BUCHAREST – CURTEA DE ARGES – POENARI – CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS

In the morning you’ll leave Bucharest. Driving by Pitesti, you’ll reach Curtea de Arges. Here you’ll visit the monastery which is considerate to be one of the most remarkable masterpieces of the Romanian architecture. It will be a good place to capture beautiful details of the architecture, an interesting mixture between Byzantine, Renaissance and Art Nouveau.

You’ll continue your photo tour with a visit of the Poenari fortress, the real castle built by Vlad the Impaler (Dracula). The fortress can be reached only after you have climbed 1480 stone stairs. This path through the forest used to be surrounded by hundreds of impaled people, the image being terrifying for the enemies of Vlad. The ruins of the Poenari fortress are a perfect spot for stunning landscape photography. To all these attractions add the legends related to Dracula.

Another stop of the photo tour is Vidraru Dam constructed in 1965 in a beautiful mountain area. It impresses through its sizes: 166 meters high and 305 meters long.

Further on, you’ll be taken to the Transfagarasan highway, the most picturesque road of Romania. After the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Ceausescu, the communist dictator, ordered the building of a strategic road. The construction of the road took more than 4 years, since March 1970 till 20^th September 1974. The road, inaugurated by the dictator, is a fascinating tourist route, representing throughout summers the most impressive and spectacular way of crossing the Carpathians.

In the afternoon you’ll reach your final destination of the day, a small hotel located up in the Carpathian Mountains. You’ll take a short photo walk, you’ll enjoy the fast running waters, the waterfalls and the alpine landscape. It will be the right place for long exposure photography while in the evening you can try even some night shots.

Overnight in the Carpathian Mountains

Day 3
CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS – SIBIU

Early in the morning, before breakfast, when the light is just perfect for photography you’ll be transferred to the top of the Carpathian Mountains where you’ll take pictures of the most visited glacial lake in Romania. Then, for about 90 minutes you’ll be hiking for a better view over the surroundings and the Transfagarasan Highway. You’ll end up near another glacial lake where you’ll be able to take more stunning pictures.

The photo tour continues and you’ll set off to Sibiu. After lunch you’ll take a rest and in the afternoon you’ll enjoy a walking guided tour of Sibiu. This city is perhaps the most beautiful city in Romania, and perhaps the reason it was chosen as the European Cultural Capital in 2007. Built by German colonists who had been brought to Transylvania by the Hungarian kings, Sibiu is a stunning medieval city. It boasts wonderful architecture: towers, old churches, cobblestone streets and alleys, passages, staircases and cast-iron bridges. Therefore, the afternoon should be a wonderful occasion for some street photography. In the evening you’ll have the chance of shooting the medieval square of Sibiu during the blue hour.

Overnight in Sibiu

Day 4
SIBIU – HUNEDOARA – HATEG – RETEZAT MOUNTAINS

Today you’ll enjoy some of the most important tourist destinations from Romania. First, you’ll take a detour for Alba Iulia which is known for its fortress built in the first part of the 18th century and is one of the best preserved Vauban fortifications in Romania. You’ll enjoy a walking tour of the citadel and you’ll visit buildings such as the Orthodox Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Church.

The next stop will be the Corvin Castle located in Hunedoara. Named by Lonely Planet the spookiest building in Europe, the castle impresses through its size and Gothic architecture. Definitely, it is a great site for any photographer. You’ll take a tour of the Corvin Castle and you’ll visit even the former dungeons and you’ll get to know the legend of the well.

Not far away from Hateg lies the European Bison Reservation. Located in the middle of a large forest, the reservation boasts several large examples of European bison, once a common animal in this area. You’ll visit the reservation, you’ll take pictures of  these massive animals and you’ll enjoy the great natural area.

In the afternoon you’ll reach a remote rural area located in the Transylvanian Plateau. It is here where you’ll be able to see one of the oldest and strangest Orthodox churches in Romania. Located not far away from the former Roman town of Sarmizegetusa, the church was built in the 13th century using Roman stones from previous constructions. It is due to these stones that the church has a somewhat peculiar look compared to the traditional Byzantine churches.

Finally you’ll reach the Retezat Mountains, probably the most beautiful mountains in Romania. In the last part of the day you’ll take a short photo walk.

Overnight in the Retezat Mountains

Day 5
RETEZAT MOUNTAINS

Beside the stunning landscape, virgin forests and wild life, these Retezat Mountains are known for their glacial lakes. There are over 80 glacial lakes in the Retezat Mountains, but several of them are just temporary. The largest glacial lake in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains is to be found here.

Early in the morning you’ll start your adventure in the Carpathian Mountains. For the whole day you’ll be hiking in this natural park. In the first part of the hiking tour you’ll be taking pictures of the rivers using the tripod then you’ll reach the summit where you’ll stop by the side of the Lake Bucura, the largest glacial lake in Romania. After the lunch you’ll go down back to your accommodation.

Overnight in the Retezat Mountains

Day 6
RETEZAT MOUNTAINS – ROSIA MONTANA – WESTERN CARPATHIANS

It’s time to leave the Southern Carpathians for the Western ones. On the way you’ll take a detour for one of the most controversial areas in Romania. The Western Carpathians boasts the largest gold resource in Europe. The deposit was exploited since Roman times, even today the Roman galleries being the proof of this activity. During the communist regime a mining exploitation was active in this area. A dam was built, a beautiful valley and village being flooded with infested waters from the mining exploitation. Even today the steeple of the church from the flooded village is still visible, jutting out from the infested reddish reservoir. Depending on the time, the photo tour might continue with a visit to the basaltic columns.

In the end you’ll reach the heart of the Western Carpathians where you’ll stay for one night.

Overnight in the Western Carpathians

Day 7
WESTERN CARPATHIANS

 The Western Carpathians are famous for their limestone formations, from sinkholes to icy caves, from underground rivers to amazing gorges. For the whole day you’ll roam the mountains, you’ll be taken to some famous gorges, walk through virgin forests, visit some great sinkholes or quiet meadows.

Overnight in the Western Carpathians

Day 8
WESTERN CARPATHIANS – TURDA – SIGHISOARA

Today you’ll leave behind the great valleys of the Carpathian and you’ll visit Turda, something quite different from the rest of the sites in this trip. This place is known for its salt deposits. Discovered first by the Romans, the Turda salt mine became an important exploitation center during the Habsburg’s control of Transylvania. Here you’ll be astonished by the very long access corridor, which has almost 1km and by the huge salt galleries.

On the way to Sighisoara you’ll make a detour for the UNESCO site of Biertan. Located in a beautiful rural area of Transylvania, the castle-church of Biertan is perched on a hill surrounded by old Saxon houses which preserve the medieval atmosphere. You’ll enjoy a tour of the fortress and church, where you’ll learn the history of this place as well as hear some funny stories. Not far away lies a village where you’ll be able to photograph a genuine gypsy family.

In the afternoon, we will come to Sighisoara, one of the best medieval citadels of Europe, a top UNESCO heritage site. Founded by the Germans in the 12th and 13th centuries, Sighisoara is a major tourist attraction. In the afternoon you’ll get a short walking tour of Sighisoara, where you will admire the cobblestone alleys, the medieval buildings, and the watch-towers. The Clock Tower itself is the perfect spot for an amazing panorama.

Overnight in Sighisoara

Day 9
SIGHISOARA – BRASOV – BRAN – SINAIA

Today you’ll leave behind the historical region of Transylvania and you’ll discover some of the most famous tourist sites in Romania.

You’ll start with Brasov. Its medieval atmosphere, with old and stunning buildings, its cobblestone streets, its quiet and hidden alleys are among the most important reasons that make Brasov so desirable. The famous Black Church, the largest church between Vienna and Istanbul, as it is described by many travel guides, can be considered another reason. If you take into consideration the fact that Brasov is surrounded by the green and steep slopes of the Postavaru Mountain which offers great views over the entire city and beyond, then you can see why this city entices its travelers.

Bran Castle is by far one of the most famous tourist attractions of Romania, therefore we can’t miss it. Originally built by the Teutonic nights some 800 years ago, Bran Castle became famous especially after Bram Stoker wrote his famous novel “Dracula”.

In the last part of the day you’ll cross again the Carpathian Mountains and you’l reach Sinaia, also known as the Carpathian Pearl.

Overnight in Sinaia

Day 10
SINAIA – BUCEGI MOUNTAINS

After your breakfast you’ll be taken up in the Carpathian Mountains. On the way you’ll take short detour for some great locations and you’ll stop for taking pictures of rivers or lakes. You’ll visit the Sphinx, a giant rock shaped by wind, rain and ice in the form of a Sphinx and then in about one hour you’ll reach the Heroes’ Cross from where you’ll enjoy the best panorama of the whole trip. On the way back to your hotel you’ll hike for about 3 hours.

In the evening you’ll take advantage of the light and you’ll take some other great landscape photography.

Overnight in Bran

Day 11
BUCEGI MOUNTAINS – SINAIA – BUCHAREST

For the last time during this trip you’ll have the chance to take some great morning pictures. Then you’ll go back to Sinaiaw where Prince Carol decided to build his summer residence. Many say it might be the most beautiful castle in the whole world. After the visit of the interiors you’ll roam around the royal property for some gorgeous pictures.

The monastery of Sinaia is a fine example of Byzantine art, and is the oldest building of Sinaia.

In the afternoon we’ll reach Bucharest, and in the evening, you’ll enjoy a final dinner of the Romanian photo tour.

Overnight in Bucharest

Day 12
BUCHAREST – OTOPENI AIRPORT

You’ll be transferred to the airport according to your flight time.

End of the tour

pictures by Daniel Gheorghita
© Covinnus Travel Ltd.