from the Danube to the Mountain Tops
Host: Radu CreangaWhen: from the middle of June to the end of October Length of stay: A two week itinerary is provided as an example of what can be done, but visits of any length are welcome Number of guests: Two to eight Languages: English, French and a bit of Dutch Fee: For this tour you must allot 50 Euros per day if less than 5 persons or 500 Euros for entire period if more than 5 persons. Included: airport transfers, transportations, accommodations, meals, guide, a lot of fun and satisfaction. Not included: flights to/from Timisoara, alcoholic drinks, medical assistance and cruising on Danube.
GETTING TO TIMISOARA IF YOU'RE FROM EUROPE AND YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME AND WANT TO SEE HOW EUROPE LOOKS, THEN YOU MIGHT CHOOSE TO COME BY BUS (see www.eurolines.com) OR BY YOUR VAN, CAR OR MOTORBIKE! No matter the way you choused to come to Timisoara, we will meet at the airport or anywhere else and you'll be transferred to a hostel. ITINERARY
Optional: "Nera wild gorges natural reserve: climbing and walking all the gorges." (25 km) This is an all-long-day walking route. Our starting point will be the Devil's lake from where we will walk through the wild gorges back in the village!
Day 5: "Beusnita natural reserve: the legend of Beu's Eye lake and Beusnita's waterfalls" (10 km) From a nearby old village with houses built from calcareous tuff, will start our trekking expedition to an unforgettable valley beautified by its calcareous dams which formed the waterfalls you're about to discover. A small clear karsts lake will show us its beautiful colors and fish. The Mediterranean flora from around and the waterfalls music will make you wish to stay more and more in this marvelous background.
Day 7, 8: "Two days on Danube's bank" (144 km) This area is a big natural reserve, which include around 14 protected areas. Some of the things what we will see: a river mouth for its hydrophilic and hygrophilic vegetation and aquatic birds, a martin's colony, a calcareous plateau (characteristic field of karre), fossils, the big and small Danube's gorges. Also we will pass by an archeological reserve located in a hollow, to admire its wall paintings dated from 14,000 years ago! If you're fisherman and you'll like to exercise fishing in Danube then now's the time to show us your skills!
Day 10: "Domogled natural reserve" The Domogled Mountain is a magnificent mountain. For its treasures he was classified as UNESCO natural reserve. Over 1,500 species of butterflies and a remarkable diversified flora are living on this mountain. This is the north-western point in Europe reached by southern-Mediterranean bio-elements. From the top the landscape is amazing. Day 11: "Seven hot springs and Cosiu water fall" At 7 km north of Herculane a much appreciated place is there where geo-thermal waters emerge and people can take benefits from it. We will take care of this at returning, after visiting our next target. With its two arms and descending on a 120 m high wall, this water fall is the highest one from the country. You will be delighted to admire how waters can fall from such a height without any obstacle in the way.   
Day 12: "Tesna canyon" Another world is waiting for you at 14 km north of Herculane! Spectacular calcareous landscapes are to be discovered there where you didn't think that's possible. You'll see and learn the differences between gorges and canyons. A small water mill will tell us that here some people (mostly shepherds) choused to live in harmony with nature.Day 13: "Relaxing at the geo-thermal swimming pool. Transfer to Timisoara" This day is the resting bones day! After almost two weeks of nature wonders, it's time for celebrating with a party! In the evening we'll move back in the city. Day 14: "Transfer to airport" APPENDIX:Appendix 1: Notes on the flora & fauna of the area we cover |
Day 2: "History, architecture, urban wild and plant life, introduction in Romanian cuisine, mineral and thermal waters, mineralogy, old locomotives"
After the breakfast you'll get to know the city history, its old architecture, churches and parks. At lunch, your stomach will celebrate in Romanian style if not veggie. Before we will start moving our bodies from the plain in the mountains, we will do a bit of shopping (things you forgot at home, some indispensable things in the mountains, food for the route). The van's first stop will be at 25 km east from Timisoara, in the watering and bathing city of Buzias. The region is furrowed by tectonic faults through which mineral and thermal waters emerge. From two open-to-public springs we can heal our brimful with Romanian food stomachs, because these waters are incentives for the gastric internal secretion. Also, if we find some nuts into our pockets, then we can share them with the squirrels from the park. The hills of Buzias, where we will have our next stop, will offer us a deep view over the flat plain of Timis river and a helpful binocular will reveal us how big it is this city of Timisoara. 
Farther, after we stopped few times for some nice shots of the villages we passed through, on the other side of the hills, from the Birzava river valley we will drive south around 7 km on a very nice road through the forest to the oldest iron exploitation in the region. There, Mr. Gruescu will wait for us with his precious mineral collection, with unique pieces in the world: andradite, ludwigite, dognecanite, warthaite, paligoskite, manganilvaite, manganoferosalite, mangansalite (some of them may be not founded in the specialized dictionaries). It will take us less than half an hour to reach the city of Resita, big metallurgic center in the past, where we will visit the open-air old locomotives collection and admire from outside the old metallurgic factory, built by Austro-Hungarians in 1777. Our final destination for this day is an old village, where we will stay for the next 4 days.
Day 3: "Traversing the tunnels, the trout farm" (10 km)
After the breakfast and all the preparations we will start our trekking expedition on the beautiful and spectacular gorges of Nera River. We will pass the hill on Nera's valley and here we are at the "entrance" in Nera natural reserve. Six tunnels chiseled in the rocks are to be covered in order to arrive there where Nera gets its main tributary river: Beu. The longest tunnel is 40 m long and the path is at 15 m above the river. Then we will turn left on Beu's valley and 5 km farther the trout farm will supply us with its delicious fish. Going back, we will come to an agreement about how to cook them.
Day 4: "Devil's lake, Susara's waterfall and gorges" (15 km)
We will drive the van for few km and then after walking for 45' we will see a unique karst phenomenon in the country by its origin: a cave ceiling collapsed and the Devil's lake was born. You'll hear its mysterious legend and admire the trout swimming in the lake. Returning, we will take another route on Susara River's valley for visiting a 15 m high waterfall and its gorges. If water is not too cold we can take a bath.
Day 6: "33.4 km, 14 tunnels, 10 viaducts on the railroad"
From Oravita city we will take the train early in the morning at 7.45 to Anina city on a one-way-old-from-1863 railroad! You'll travel back in time! The train is climbing slowly on the mountains through the forest, tunnels and viaducts. Two hours of amazement. Then, we will visit the beautiful lakes around Anina and later in the afternoon we will take the train back to Oravita on the same railroad.
Day 9: "Short cruise on Danube - optional. Baile Herculane - the old geo-thermal Roman baths." At the end of our expedition on Danube's bank, for those interested, a three hours long cruise can be available from the little city of Orsova. You can see and feel from the water the Danube's gorges. Our next accommodation for the following days will be in a very beautiful resort from where we will hike in the mountains around.