Summits of the Transylvanian Alps

I joined this tour because I wanted a mountain hiking adventure in a place I hadn't been before. The journey to Villa Hermani is like going back in time, travelling first through the flat plains, then through a rather touristy hilly area, then up a dirt track to Magura, a remote village surrounded by hills and mountains. The itinerary was well planned. There are basically three days in the Piatra Craiului national park with an overnight hut stay to enable the group to summit without a lot of climb. Then two days in the Bucegi mountains again with a hut stay. In between there is a walk through a gorge with 7 ladders. The group which was high powered and diverse got along well, and creating a Whats App group to share pictures was a great idea. Unfortunately the weather was mixed and we were unable to summit La Om and Omu because of poor conditions on those days. I would recommend this tour unreservedly!

This was a tough but thoroughly enjoyable trip in a very beautiful part of the world. The challenging grade is about right; be prepared for a lot of rocky steep ascent and descent including a fair amount of scrambling and using fixed cables/chains. Some parts (particularly the ascent to La Om on Day 4 and the ridge along the top) are pretty exposed. There is a good mix of tougher and somewhat easier days to break things up with some nice forest and meadow sections. The reward is some amazing scenery in a relatively unspoilt part of the world. The whole trip was very well organised and accommodation at Villa Hermani was very clean and comfortable, with friendly hosts and great food. The mountain huts were a good experience but be prepared for very basic toilet and sanitary facilities.