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 Wolf tales and trails:
- wolf is without any doubts a symbol of Romania. Not only because Romania has the largest wolf population (around 3,000) in the whole Europe, west of Russia. Our ancestor, the Dacians were also known in the ancient times as the ‘wolf-warriors’; they had an image of a wolf-head as a war-flag. The Romans that conquered a good part of what is nowadays Romania also had a wolf as a national symbol.
- the famous female wolf milking Romulus and Remus.
The result is that wolf is everywhere in Romania nowadays (sometimes with a surprising and unusual positive image)-in our forests, traditional architecture, folklore, names and festivities). We dedicate our guided tours to exploring this fascinating Romanian ‘wolf’ world.
Here are some ideas for tours that can fit your interests and available time; you can choose different topics that we can then put together in your tour:
South-eastern part of Transylvania - a great combination of unique places and cultures:
- traditional Romanian mountain villages with old houses entirely built of wood;
- Bran Castle (14th century) with its fascinating history;
- the very well-preserved medieval centre of Brasov town with its famous Black Church;
- some of the best protected areas in the whole of Romania-Piatra Craiului National Park and Bucegi Natural Park;
- the impressive Peasant fortress in Rasnov (13th century);
- huge expanses of unbroken forests between Zarnesti and Fagaras Mountains (the Transylvanian Alps)-home to a great number of wolves,bears and lynx;
- excellent birdwatching at Rotbav fishponds and Dumbravita (IBAs)
Sachsen culture and civilization in Transylvania
The Germans (or Sachsen as they are known here) were invited and settled by the Hungarian rulers of Transylvania starting with the 12th century. Although they were forced by political reasons to leave Romania in large numbers, their heritage here is overwhelming:
- fortified churches-unique buildings for the whole Europe;there are still around one hundred of them left;
- old villages - some of them in isolated but spectacular places;they are still called Sachsen villages,although there are now very few of them left there;
- peasant fortresses - built by Sachsen peasants and craftsmen for their own defense needs
- great architecture in very well-preserved medieval towns like Sibiu or Sighisoara
Ancient beliefs, myths and legends around the Romanian Carpathians
Romania has preserved an extraordinary treasure throughout the centuries: its people's spirit. What these people believed, or thought about, or imagined is reflected in unique creations:
- the 'Troytsa'-these are wooden or stone crosses (very often shaped as a tree though) at the crossroads or on the way out of almost each of the Romanian villages; trees are still an important element for Romanian traditional weddings or funerals;
- wooden churches in Maramures (north) or Oltenia (south)-although they are Christian Orthodox buildings, the painting inside has a number of prechristian motifs;
- wooden gates- widespread in Romanian or Hungarian mountain villages in Romania-the decorations for these unique pieces of art are meant to keep evil away from the sacred place-the house;
- the incredible painted monasteries in Bucovina (N-E of Romania); the one at Voronet is actually surnamed 'The Sistine Chapel of the East'.
Danube Delta - wildlife and traditional culture
Reputed amongst specialists as the best birdwatching place in the whole Europe, Danube Delta (a Biosphere Reserve) is in fact a fantastic combination between unspoiled nature areas and traditional Romanian, Russian,Ukrainian, Tartar and
Turkish settlements We can explore together with one of the local fishermen:
- some of the small channels, reedbeds, floating islands, willow-lined banks in search of some of the spectacular or elusive birds here. The highlights can be (apart from breathtaking scenery) the White-tailed Eagle, White or Dalmatian Pelican, Glossy Ibis and hundreds more!
- the extraordinary forests on Letea and Caraorman grind (extensive sandbank)-some of Romania's most remarkable nature reserves;
- Lipovan (Russian) or Haholi (Ukrainian) villages-with thatch-roof houses, reed fences, old-fashioned fishing-boats (lotca) There are also spectacular archaeological sites at Histria, Enisala or Callatis (Mangalia) with great evidence of Roman, Greek or Genovese culture and civilization.
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