Itinerary

• Day One - Hungarian Szekely land, Volcanic Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorge, Piatra Neamt
• Day Two - The world famous Painted Monasteries of Bucovina!  
• Day Three - Carpathian Mountains, Praid Salt Mine, spend the night in a rural Saxon village

Mountains and monasteries indeed! This three-day extension to our Transylvania and Bucharest tour will take you to dizzying heights, on rural byways, and to some of the most unique monasteries in the world - the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina!

On our way from Sighisoara to Piatra Neamt on day one of our extended tour we will pass through Szekely Land. What in the world is Szekely Land? Szekelys are ethnic Hungarians living in this region of Transylvania. The Szekelys speak Hungarian (sometimes to the consternation of Romanians) and have their own newspapers and culture.

We will pass through Szekely Land and its principal cities of Odorheiu Secuiesc and Miercurea Ciuc (pronouncing lessons will be provided on the tour!) before crossing over the Carpathian Mountain range for the first of many times on our way to Bicaz Gorge and the Red Lake!

Bicaz Gorge is one of the most stunning natural features in Romania. 1,000 foot cliffs tower over us as we snake our way through the gorge on our way to the earthquake-formed Red Lake.

We'll stop at the "Gates of Hell" section of the gorge to gaze upwards and to do a little tourist shopping at the artisan stands next to the road.

Piatra Neamt is our destination for this evening and after getting settled in to our hotel and a nice meal we'll take an optional stroll around the old town!

Day two of our visit to the Moldavia area of Romania will take us to the spectacular Painted Monasteries of Bucovina. These monasteries are recognized by UNESCO as world heritage sites and are among the most important artistic sites in Europe!

But what are the Painted Monasteries? When the Ottoman Turks invaded in the 14th and 15th centuries the monasteries became a gathering place for the armies and the local peasants. Being illiterate and unable to understand the Slavic liturgy of the church, the beautiful monasteries were decorated on the inside and out with paintings of Biblical events intended to educate the people.

The Painted Monasteries of Bucovina remain a mystery, however, as the extraordinary colors remain to this day despite being exposed to the harsh Moldavian weather conditions.  It is still undetermined how some of the dyes were created and, even with modern science, no one has been able to duplicate them.

Day three is mountains, mountains, mountains as we come down out of Moldavia and return to Transylvania by crossing over and through the mighty Carpathian Mountains on twisty roads. Here you are sure to see more of the rural scenes that make Romania famous!

On our way we will stop off at the Praid Salt Mines, a unique salt mine turned tourist destination! Our journey will bring us back through Szekely land and into the Fortified Saxon Church Villages area where we will spend the night in a remote rural Saxon village!

This extension to our Seven-Day Transylvania & Bucharest Tour is our most popular extension and one that should really not be missed if coming to Romania!

To see more extensions to our Seven-Day Transylvania & Bucharest Tour please click here.