TRAIL RIDE
8 days | 7 nights

DEPARTURE DATES
April to October

ALL INCLUSIVE

NOT SUITABLE FOR BEGINNERS

Overview

Transylvania is a land made for riding, and there is no better way to explore the endless hills, meadows, and medieval villages than on horseback.​

You ride for almost 200 km through the hills and medieval villages in a big loop back to Sinca Noua, base of the Riding Club. On the way you see and eXperience some of the most rural areas Europe still has, with tens of thousands of sheep grazing the old way in the hills and an abundant bird life – lesser spotted eagles, bee-eaters, or hoopoes just to name a few. At the same time, you will see many remains of this medieval culture with its fortified churches, some of which are 800 years old. The owners of the Riding Club, run a large conservation programme in the area, of which you will learn throughout your ride.

Your eXperience will start at the Southern edge of Transylvania and explores the south-eastern corner of this mystic land.

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Bucharest (please make sure you arrive until 16:15 local time the latest), transfer by minibus from Bucharest to Sinca Noua. Overnight at the guesthouse of the Riding Club, dinner and evening introduction into the ride.

Day 2
After being introduced to the horses, you will leave Şinca Nouă (pronounced Shinca Noah), ride along the valleys and over the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains towards the plains of the Olt River valley. You pass the ‘Daffodils Meadow’ Nature Reserve and can experience already several of the long canters before arriving after about 7 hours at your destination in Mândra, where you will stay with a local family. 31 km distance. Only double and triple rooms.

Day 3
You will cross the Olt River at Halmeag and continue up the Felmer Valley, where you will enter into the hills of Transylvania. You ride along a beautiful ridge with marvelous views to the Fagaras Mountains and reach your goal of the day in Cobor, an old Hungarian village in the middle of the Saxon area. Today, you ride a total of ca. 7 hours and will start to experience the beauty of this ancient land. In Cobor, your hosts run a conservation project, which includes the development of an organic farm with emphasis on biodiversity conservation In Cobor and the traditional restoration of some of the abandoned houses. You stay overnight in one of these new-old guesthouses for the next two days. 32 km distance.

Day 4
Full-day ride (6 hours in the saddle) around Cobor with stunning views, fast canters, and rich bird life: You are likely to see bee-eaters, hoopoes, great grey shrikes, stone chats, or lesser spotted eagles. In the late afternoon you are back in Cobor and can chill out in the old stables or in the cellar bar. Ca. 31 km distance.

Day 5
Full-day ride ca. 7 hours over the hills to Viscri, your destination for the next night. Viscri is probably the famous most Saxon village in Transylvania with a stunning fortified church, and the UK based Mihai Eminescu Trust (under the patronage of Prince Charles) has restored the village in its original setting. You stay in the old farmhouses, which are transformed into little guesthouses, and enjoy the traditional Saxon cuisine. In the evening there is time to explore the village. 39 km distance.

Day 6
In the morning you explore the fortified church in Viscri, visit the local blacksmith (who still works by hand with old bellows and a charcoal fire), and have a lunch before you go. In the afternoon, you ride over the hills to a log-house on a big meadow in the forest near the village of Jibert. Stunning scenery and great canters all along the way. Today is a rather fast but shorter ride, ca. 3.5 hours. You get a great dinner and will enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the Transylvanian countryside. 24 km distance.

Day 7
Today is your last day, but there are again plenty of canters over the hills and through the forests. Eventually you arrive in the Olt Valley, have a beautiful ride along the ridge through ancient oak pastures and descend from there through the forests towards Halmeag, where your ride ends. Here you enjoy a barbecue and a bus takes you back to the Riding Club in Sinca Noua and also their horses get a transport back home. Surprise dinner in the evening. 34 km distance.

Day 8
After a last breakfast, the minibus takes you back to Bucharest for your flights.

Additional information

Transfer
3 hour by bus from Bucharest to Sinca Noua.
Please make sure you do not arrive later than 16:15 local time in Bucharest and do not leave earlier than 14:00 the following Saturday.

Guests are kindly asked to contribute with a €40 donation to the Carpathia conservation project.

Spring and early summer in Transylvania is a beautiful time with lots of flowers on the meadows. Temperatures are usually between 20 and 25° C. Summers can get quite hot, if it would become too hot for riding you usually leave earlier in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat. The occasional thunder storm is likely during summer. Autumn is usually nice and temperatures usually drop again below 25° C and even to 15° C in October. However, the autumn colours on our October trails are incredible.

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Transylvania Trail

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