Maramures - a rural fairytale

Take a journey through time and discover the real Romanian landscape on a cultural back-to-basics style trip through the Maramures region where you’ll be traveling deep into the heart of Romania’s rural countryside with its vast expanses of wild nature, cultural sites, rolling green hills, wooden churches and picturesque peasant villages. Maramures is a fascinating place in the north of Romania surrounded by mountains and picturesque valleys, the most famous and beautiful being the Mara and Iza Valleys.

This guided tour takes you along country roads and pastoral landscapes far from the crowded routes, on flat terrain, unpaved country trails, up and down hill trails enjoying the incredible rural scenery. You will experience eight wonderful cycling days mixed with an extraordinary culinary and cultural experience. Cycling enthusiasts will be delighted to find out that Maramures has a complex network of forestry trails and marked footpaths, which offer great views of the villages and of the amazing northern Romanian landscape

Over 30 natural protected areas, mild meadows, full of green in the summer and of snow in the winter, mountains covered by evergreen forests, all are mirrored in the crystal clear waters, spread all over this region.

Here, in the Land of Woods and Rivers, traditional houses are made of timber, with steep shingled roofs, dovetail joints, wooden pegs and no nails. Gates are enormous, topped by a shingle roof, and with intricate woodcarvings of ropes, suns and wolves’ teeth to protect the family from harm. Every household has its own well, neatly hoed rows of vegetables and colourful pots and pans dangling from a tree, a local custom which began as a practical way to store cooking utensils in a home with no cupboards.

Staying in simple guesthouses that are hosted by locals, you are invited to share peasant customs and traditions typical of Maramures village life such as helping farmers making jam from freshly picked fruits or work with local potters and carpenters, learning the art of pottery and creating your very own objects.

Admire the region’s famous 8 UNESCO wooden churches, including the tallest wooden church in the world, learn more about Romania’s history of communism in Sighetu Marmatiei and gain a new perspective at the charming Merry Cemetery and more: fairly-tale hamlets, splendid displays woodwork and of popular costume, country festivals, ancient traditions, hospitable people and artisans.

Highlights

• Cycling route along the Iza and Mara river valleys to admire the beautiful scenery
• Merry Cemetery in Sapanta - unique in the world, due to its originality
• Mocanita (the narrow steam gauge train) hauled by a vintage steam engine from the times of the Austrian-Hungarian empire
• Breb village
• Botiza village (dowry chests and rugs)
• Viseul de Jos area (folk costume and fabrics)
• Bogdan Voda village (carpets and wickerwork)
• Sacel village (rough red ceramics with old traditional elements)
• Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance
• The old wooden churches, part of the UNESCO World Heritage
• Craiasca Forest – a nature reserve
• The old water mill in Feresti