Summits of the Transylvanian Alps

Transylvania is a fantastic destination for hiking with stunning scenery, fabulous views, and so many wildflowers. The areas we hiked in felt remote and unspoilt. We saw very few hikers on the routes we took and even had one of the mountain huts to ourselves. As some of the other reviews say, this is a challenging week and requires a good head for heights (some parts are very exposed) and a good level of fitness. The days are long (8-10 hours of walking on the first three days, 6 hours on the last three days as the walks were cut short to avoid afternoon storms) which means little 'down time'. The terrain is varied (rocks and scree, pastures, meadows, forests). A significant amount of scrambling is required the first three days, and in particular the third when heading up to La Om. The other days don't require scrambling but are still demanding in terms of the terrain and elevation gain/loss. Two nights are spent in simple huts, with basic facilities (outside drop toilets), but the location of Cabana Malaiesti is spectacular as well worth it.

This is a tough week (and I've done Kilimanjaro/TMB/Toubkal). Don't underestimate it. Someone told me that in Romania the trails just go straight up - no zigzags and they really do! The ascents one the first two days are quite technical scrambles /climbs and the descents are absolutely knee-wrecking. So be ready for that and you'll have a fabulous time!

In general, this was a wonderful trip. Or, as the British hikers on the trip would have said, "Brilliant." However, the six days of hiking actually included a fare amount of scrambling (especially on day 3) -- and scrambling is different from hiking. The course description does not adequately describe the amount of and the challenges of scrambling versus hiking. I strongly recommend that you include the amount of scrambling in your course description AND include either a link to a video showing what scrambling is and how to do it or make and include your own video.

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.