Cycling in Maramureș - the land of woods and rivers OVERVIEW If you are a nature-lover, then you will surely enjoy the breathtaking natural landscapes of the mountains and of the river valleys in Maramureș. Maramureș, the 'land of silence', the land of woods' or the 'land of deer', is one of the most isolated and undiscovered regions of Europe. It is a fascinating place in the north of Romania surrounded by mountains and picturesque valleys. Ethnographically it is a treasury of old customs and rites still surviving. The region is renowned for its 17 th and 18 th century spindly wooden churches and beautiful hand carved wooden gates. HIGHLIGHTS Cycle along the Iza and Mara river valleys to admire the beautiful scenery; Visit of the "Merry Cemetery" - Săpânţa (18 km from Sighetul Marmaţiei), unique in the world, amazing due to its originality; Short trip with the narrow gauge train (the so-called Mocanita) hauled by a vintage steam engine from the times of the Austrian-Hungarian empire; Visit of the 8 wooden churches, part of the Unesco World Heritage; 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) TOUR DETAILS Duration 9-days cycling tour Distance around 350 km Difficulty intermediate level Terrain The tour includes national, local, village and forest roads, varying from 30 to 70 km per day Accommodation peasant houses, pensions and hotels with breakfast included Group size The program requires a minimum of 5 people and a maximum of 15 participants; one guide will be provided for a group of up to 8 persons and 2 guides for more than 8 participants; ITINERARY Day 1: Get together in Baia Mare Visiting Baia Mare (cultural, historic visit and shopping) Dinner at Lostriţa restaurant -16 km from Baia Mare, near Lake Firiza. Alternative: 10 km cycling from Firiza lake to Izvoare. Dinner at Izvoare, 25 km from Baia Mare. Accomodation in a *** hotel. Baia Mare, the county town of Maramureș, is situated on the Sasar river, at the base of Gutâi Mountains. In the old part of the town we can admire a few old structures and monuments such as St Steven Tower', St Anthon Catholic Church', The Elizabeta House, The Butcher's Bastille, Monetare Bastille and other Orthodox, Reformed and Catholic churches. Day 2: The start of our cycling experience through Maramureș Izvoare-Clough Gutâi-Mogosa-Cavnic-Şurdești (-Plopiș) ~40 km
After breakfast we cycle for around 12 km on a nice forest path up to Gutâi Clough (1 000 m), which passes the route from Baia Mare to Sighetul Marmaţiei. The road passes to the east the Igniș Peak of the Igniș Mountains by crossing a coniferous forest. From Gutâi we cycle 10 km descent on an asphalt road on the way to Baia Mare, followed by a secondary road of 3 km to Mogosa. From Mogosa the route takes us to the centre of the tourist city Cavnic. Cavnic is an old mining town situated in Gutâi mountains. From Cavnic to Şurdești (400 m) we cycle for 8 km on a local asphalt road, on the valley of the river Cavnic, and then for 3 km up to Plopiș. The church of Şurdești is one of the eight churches included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. In the evening we stop for the accommodation in Şurdești at a local guest house and have dinner at Georgeta Iuga. Day 3: Şurdești-Cavnic-Budești-Breb-Ocna Şugatag-Călinești-Văleni-Bârsana ~52 km Departure at 9.30 a.m., after breakfast. The first 16 km are a bit difficult with a continuous ascent up to an altitude of 1000 m. We first take the same 8 km route from yesterday from Şurdesti to Cavnic. The road continues for 8 km on a local road up to Neteda Clough (1 040 m), followed by 15 km descent to Călinești (500 m). Thus we enter the Maramureș depression. Breb is also famous for having been visited by The Prince of Wales in the spring of 2004, the Mihai Eminescu Trust owns here two traditional houses. At Budești or Ocna Şugatag we might have a stop to serve a traditional lunch Ocna Şugatag is a popular health spa which stands out through its hot or cold salty baths. The lake formed when the salt mine from Ocna collapsed. From here, our route takes us after 14 km to Bârsana, passing the villages of Călinești and Văleni. In Călinești we`ll admire one of the most beautiful Maramureș gates. Bârsana traces its history back to the Bronze Age. The 57 m high church of Bârsana monastery ranks first among the wooden constructions in Romania. The church, which now stands on a small hill surrounded by an orchard, is one of the eight churches on the UNESCO World heritage list. Overnight accommodation in the area at a local pension or guest house. Day 4: Bârsana-Strâmtura-Rozavlea-Ieud-Bogdan Vodă-Săliștea de Sus-Săcel-Moisei-Vișeu de Sus- Vișeu de Jos ~75 km (Alternative route): Bârsana-Slătioara-Glod-Poienile Izei-Botiza-Ieud-Bogdan Vodă-Săliștea de Sus-Săcel- Moisei-Vișeu de Sus-Vișeu de Jos ~85 km As usual we leave for our cycling tour after breakfast around 9.30 a.m. This is the longest cycling day of our tour. It is an easier route since most of it is asphalt road. From Bârsana we enter the beautiful Iza Valley, one of the finest cycling areas in Maramureș. The villages here exhibit superb old wooden churches and traditional peasant houses. The road is very beautiful and follows the small rivers of Sieut, Botiza and Ieud. On the road, we could stop in Strâmtura to admire the wooden church built in 1667. Ieud is known for the preservation of its traditional customs, as well as its traditional architecture. The people here dress and act the same way they did hundreds of years ago. From Ieud we enter again the Iza valley and pass the villages of Bogdan Vodă, Săcel (the place where unglaced ceramic is still produced), Moisei - all together a distance of 31 km on an easy asphalt road. After another 19 km on asphalt road, we enter the Vișeu valley, which is inhabited by Romanian, Germans and Carpatho-Russians. Accomodation in Vișeu de Jos in a beautiful traditional house. Day 5: Vișeu de Jos-Valea Scradei-Novat with the steam train. Return by bike for ~16 km We will be spending two nights in Viseu de Jos in the same location. Our proposal for today is to travel partially by the famous steam train, partially by bike. From Vișeu, a trip down to Vaser Valley, a tributary of the Viseu river, will bring us to a small narrow gauge steam railway, dating back from 1930s, used for wood and passenger transportation. Because the train stops for about 10 minutes every 8 km to pump water form the valley, the trip will last for a few hours. For the rest of the day we leave you decide on your own what you would like to do. Day 6: Vișeu de Jos-Ruscova-Petrova-Bârsana-Nănești-Oncești-Vadu Izei ~48 km
Departure is scheduled as usual at 9.30 a.m., after breakfast. We cycle to Petrova for 25 km on the valley of the river Vișeu where we start a 6 km ascent to Petrova. From there we will be cycling in descent for about 10 km along a beautiful scenery. After we reach Bârsana we follow the road to Sighetul Marmaţiei via Nănești and Oncești for 13 km. We reach Vadu Izei, a very nice hill landscape. The picturesque meadows and estuaries in the area shelter many species of birds with spectacular songs and colors. The village is well known for its impressive, traditional, wooden gates carved by Gheorghe Borodi. In Vadu Izei we may visit local traditional houses for their spectacular wood sculpture, glass icon painting, wool blanket and carpet weavers. We will spend the night in a local traditional guesthouse where we could have traditional music and dance programme. Day 7: Vadu Izei-Sighetu Marmaţiei-Sarasău-Câmpulung la Tisa-Săpânţa ~30 km We cycle to Sighetul Marmaţiei for about 6 km. Before reaching the city we could stop and visit the Maramureș Village Museum situated on the Dobaieș Hill, 300 km from the main road. An elegant wooden church graciously rules over the thoroughly recreated village. We stop in the city to visit some of the sights. From Sighetul Marmaţiei to Săpânta (300 m altitude) we cycle for about 16 km, parallel with the Ukrainian border. Alternatively, we can go up to the Tisa River - the natural border between Romania and Ukraine. Lying on the banks of Tisa river, Săpânta is a commune with five thousand inhabitants, not much different from others in Maramureș. The Merry Cemetery of Săpânta has been, for more than fifty years, the creation of sculptor Stan Pătraș, the successor of several generations of wood artists that bequeathed their trade from father to son. A true kaleidoscope of dances, crafts, songs, thoughts, songs to Mother Nature - that is the meaning of these crosses that surround a small church. In the cemetery surrounding the church of Săpânta, the crosses are made of carved and painted wood. The graves are more like flower beds and the crosses themselves rise like big coloured flowers. In summertime, this is a true pilgrimage spot. We spend the night in the guest house of the hunter of Săpânta, situated close to Săpânta Monastery. Day 8: Săpânta-Vrătăjel hut-colibi hut-pleșca hut-izvoare ~40 km Our route for today is a mountain route, which passes Gutâi mountains towards Baia Mare. The road is a bit more difficult especially on rainy conditions. We will mainly cycle on forest paths and back roads and the pedalling will be more difficult, but very pleasant. The first 17 km will pass Vraticel valley up to Vraticel hut. Before leaving Sapanta we could pay a visit to the local trout farm. From Vrăticel we cycle for about 12 km to Pleșca hut, passing woods and meadows. We also pass Colibi hut, at the limit between the regions Baia Mare, Săpânta, Mara and Negrești-Oaș. The wild scenery is magnificent. From Pleșca we descent for around 10 km through Tătarului to Izvoare resort. Day 9: Izvoare - Baia Mare ~25 km and departure We will be having breakfast for the last day of our trip and prepare for departure. An evaluation questionnaire will be handed in to all participants for the evaluation of the programme, of the guide and sights during the trip. Participants will receive gifts from the organizers. We will travel to Baia Mare for 25 km either by car or by bike, depending on the decision of the participants. End of the trip and farewell.
PRICES Group size Tarif per person based on double occupancy Single room supplement 4-6 Personen 1 299 EUR (Bike rental included) 129 EUR 7-10 persons 1 269 EUR (Bike rental included) 129 EUR +11 Personen 1 049 EUR (Bike rental included) 129 EUR Price / person is based on double occupancy. The prices are calculated per person and in Euros. The given rates may vary slightly in 2015. Scheduled departures: 15th 23th of June 2014, 3rd 11th of August 2014, 31st of August 6th of September INCLUDED SERVICES 8 nights accommodation Full board for all period - Breakfasts, Dinners and Picnic Lunches All entrances to monuments included in the itinerary Traditional music and dance concert in Vadu Izei (20 Ron/person) Mocanita train ticket (30 Ron/person) Energizers Luggage transportation Vehicle Assistance (whenever roads allow it to pass) English speaking accompanying bike guide (Note: We may organize also German or French Speaking guides, pls inquire) Local Taxes Branded Tshirt Souvenirs NOT INCLUDED Airfare Alcoholic drinks Extra charges for laundry telephone or fax charges, room service, etc. Insurance Bike, accessories and equipment rental Transport from the airport or station to Baia Mare and back to the aiport or train station.participants should reach the meeting point at the proposed time. If necessary, Carpatbike will provide assistance for the customers in terms of transportation support (from airport or to another destination point), ticket reservation, renting of equipment etc. Additional local guides Single room supplement Tour elevation
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