School Adventure - Transylvania Traverse
- A fastanstic School Adventure in a remote part of Eastern Europe
- A quite challenging 3-day trek through the Transylvanian Alps
- Visit a bear hide with a good chance of seeing bears in the wild
- Visit the Mediaeval walled city of Brasov
- Sightseeing in Brasov and Castle Dracula in Bran
Culturally intact, Romania is a revelation, offering a fascinating glimpse of how most of Europe would have been a century ago. After sightseeing in the mediaeval, walled city of Brasov and paying a visit to ‘Castle Dracula’ in Bran, we transfer to a lakeside chalet in the Transylvanian Alps. From here, a 3-day trek will take us on high ridge trails to Moldoveanu (2545m), the country’s highest peak. Then, in Piatra Crailui National Park, we will hike through forest to medieval villages, take a horse and cart ride, enjoy a rustic barbecue complete with traditional folk songs and have the chance to meet some friendly wolves.
Educational perspective
Romania has more wolves than the whole of the rest of western Europe. We have the chance to get close to Poiana and Crai, two orphaned wolves reared by the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project.
Amend or Extend
There are numerous other trekking options, including the hike across the Bucegi Plateau to the summit of Omu Peak. Community project work can also be arranged.
Is this holiday for you?
We recommend a minimum age of 14 years
The Carpathian Mountains sweep across central and eastern Europe from Slovakia, through Poland and Ukraine to Romania and contains some of the few remaining large stretches of wilderness left in Europe. Mountain walking is a popular local pastime in Romania, but it is only in recent years that a handful of foreign visitors have began to discover the delights of the country's spectacular mountains. We have a day of touring/sightseeing before transferring to the Fagaras Mountains for the most challenging part of this trip. The trails are predominantly good and waymarked, but there are some sections where the paths may be indistinct and rough. There is very little exposure on either the ridges or summits in the Fagaras and any short, difficult sections are usually cabled for protection. Our hike through the Fagaras involves two prolonged walking days of around 8-10 hours each day, with some significant climbs and descents. The two walks in the Piatra Craiului National Park area are much less strenuous and the final day in particular is relatively easy. There will be access to your trek bags at the overnight accommodation on days 1,2,5, 6 and 7. Group members will need to carry a minimum of personal gear on those days when we are staying at mountain huts which are inaccessible by road (Days 3 and 4). In practice, given that only a sheet sleeping bag is required, you should be able to keep the weight of your rucksack to around 8kgs / 18lbs. Each KE School Adventure is given a grade, taking into account the amount of walking involved, the difficulty of the terrain, the remoteness, the altitude and the overall length of the trip. The trips are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most challenging. This trip is graded 3.
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