Far from the turmoil of the great cities, the Romanian village attracts ever more tourists willing to get rid of the daily stress and discover an archaic, authentic and charming world. The mixture of the richness of traditions, the beauty of nature and the natives’ hospitality is even more tempting. How pleasant is waking up in the morning and from the window of your room to see a green meadow, to feel the smell fresh of grass or to walk barefoot on the green hills, while the cool dew tickles your ankles..... the village represents a certain time, almost mythical where man does not hurry up, and everything is ordered since ancient times.

It means milk and fresh eggs, vegetables and fruit barely picked from the garden, steamy bread just taken out from the oven. More than that, here you can slowly enjoy the relaxing and refreshing activities: horse riding, fishing in the whirling mountain waters or the lakes that seem still, walks and halts in the clearings where there can be heard only the humming of the bugs and the quiet sound of the scythe cutting the grass, sleeping in the hammock in the moon light and listening to the crickets’ chorus.

In Romania you can find spots to spend a special holiday all over the place. In the crowded villages between the mountains in Northern Oltenia, spread on hills or lost among Danube Delta’s canals you rediscover the very Romanian soul. The villages from Transylvania, with fortified households like real cities and with monumental churches, impress by their sobriety. Travelling to the North of the country, towards Maramureş, the image of the village changes with the scenery. Here you are charmed by the gentle beauty of the settlements and people. Bucovina with its wonderful monasteries and rich hills, with hospitable inhabitants and the gastronomical goodies will make you enjoy new and various sensations.

Each place has its own story, its own customs and traditions but also specific dishes and drinks. At the same time they share the same thing: they all seem to be born and all seem to draw their vigour out of the very nature that houses them.

Special destinations:

Maramureş
Maramureşul mainly means water. Throughout it, along Mara, Cosaul, Iza or Vaser Valleys, there appeared and developed villages, seemingly hiding themselves from the power of the mountains at whose foot they were built (especially Rodna Mountains). History is alive all over the region and with the ancient traditions which have been preserved unaltered offer the traveller a unique experience in his entire life. The villages from Maramureş echo with carols and the people, dressed in traditional costumes, celebrate the Birth of Christ with rituals full of significances.

Arrived in Maramureş, you must not miss the wooden churches many of them included in the UNESCO worldwide patrimony. And to all these you can add one of the most interesting funeral monuments in the world: the merry graveyard of Săpânţa. A cemetery of crosses in blue and red, yellow, golden and white, where folk poetry tries to describe, in a few lines, the sadness caused by the separation from a loved one or a less worthy habit.

Bucovina
When you say Bucovina you think about the monasteries with churches painted in the exterior. Sneaking near the churches to better listen to the bells calling us to recollection and the sound of the bell board, the pensions from the area know how to take advantage of the beauty of the landscape and the freedom of nature  better than anywhere else. Vama, Vatra Moldovitei, Marginea, Ciocăneşti, Putna are only a part of the villages where you can stay and in whose yards you can watch towards monuments of unique and priceless value.

Bran
When you say Bran, you say the castle raised in the 14th century. But, under this name there are included several villages spread on an approximate surface of about 20 km long and 10 km wide, among which the most known are, along with Bran: Moeciu (the two settlements having the names of Moieciu – de Sus, near the Bucegi mountainside, and Moieciu de Jos); Peştera (The Cave)– the village hung on a mountain foot together with Magurai; Sirnea, that seems hidden in a fairy-like limestone valley; Fundata, whose houses are ranged along several hills at a certain distance among them. Arrived in the area, take your time and visit Bran Castle in the town having the same name. As if raised from the very stone of the mountain, the castle still watches soberly and commandingly over the mountain pass connecting Transylvania to The Romanian Country.

Mărginimea Sibiului
One off the defining traits of the area is that the natives have sent, from one generation to another, the old occupation of shepherding, along with all the specific traditions, customs and holidays. Starting with Sălişte, a sort of “capital” of the area and going on with Sibielul (glass icons  the museum is worldwide acknowledged), Tilisca, Rod, Jina, Poiana Sibiului or Răşinari (a village where great cultural Romanian  personalities were born), the region impresses by the folk costume, people’s talk and the village look.

Valea Arieşului (The Aries Valley)
Valea Arieşului, in the South of Apuseni Mountains, help you enter one of the most interesting “countries”, as they are called by the natives themselves: Tara Moţilor. A rich area due to the people’s way of living but also to nature which is more than generous. thus, a holiday in Arieşeni, Avram Iancu, Horea or Scărişoara help you meet the history of those people and places (wooden churches, traditional households, monuments dedicated to great historical events), but one of the most interesting kart regions in Romania: the Glacier from Scarisoara, Ordancusi Gorges, Aries Gorge and The Glacier of Living Fire.

Useful information
1. Accommodation can be made in classified pensions, according to the national legislation, from one flower to five – the highest degree of comfort.
2. Most of the food products come from the natives’ households (milk, cheese, eggs, meat, wine or plum brandy – the traditional Romanian liquor, obtained after fermentation and distillation of some fruit, clean spring water). This does not mean that whoever wants can not take advantage of any “modern” product, starting with refreshments and ending with international brands.
3. All classified pensions have an identification tag, on which there are written the number of flowers and the name of the pension.
4. The areas where are numerous tourist pensions present ,at the locality entrance, a sign representing a stylized flower.
5. In many localities with tourist pensions there were organized tourist information spots where you can have free access to information regarding accommodation possibilities in the area.

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