You will be welcomed at Bucharest airport and driven to the riding center where a tasty meal awaits you. You will have a good night’s sleep in one of the farm's lovely double rooms and then head out on a test ride. You are treated to great views of the mountains and long gallops across the fields. Your English-speaking guides know the area and its history inside and out and it's fantastic to be able to benefit from their knowledge about predators and the wilderness.
The riding is varied and will be at a good pace when the terrain allows. You pass through small villages and get to see what life is like in rural areas. It is as if you have gone back in time 100 years.
You can take a trail ride where you stay on the farm all week, with the chance of one night in tents. It is possible to book a single room, EUR 70 for the week payable on site at the riding center.
Midweek the horses get a rest and you head off to visit Viscri who has many colorful stories to tell and you will be invited to enjoy a special meal with homemade wine and plum brandy.
The last riding days will be a trail ride up into the predator-filled mountains. If weather permits, you will stay overnight in tents (sleeping bags and camping matts can be provided for 15 EUR/person) . Your food is cooked over an open campfire and it's exciting to sit in the dark and listen to the wolves howling.
This week not only gives you great riding but also a unique insight into the interactions between predators and humans.
Daily Schedule (subject to change due to local circumstances):
Day 1
Arrival at Bucharest airport where you will be picked up and driven to your guesthouse in Sinca Noua. The trip takes about 3 hours. Welcome drink and dinner is served and you spend the evening with Barbara and Christoph preparing you for your week.
Day 2-3
After breakfast, you familiarize yourselves with your horses and head off on a trail ride through meadows in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. There is a fantastic view of the mountains and the meadows offer both trotting and galloping opportunities.
After a day in the saddle, with a break for lunch in a mountain meadow, you return to the riding center. In the evening, you can see a video about the research team's project that your hosts have led over many years. Another day’s riding then awaits and you will ride through a beautiful undulating landscape at the foot of the Carpathian Mountain range. You will pass a railway viaduct that was built more than 100 years ago, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the ride, there are chances to see traces of bear, wild boar and red deer and perhaps also wolves. The day offers numerous opportunities for galloping through meadows in the mountains.
During the early summer you have the chance to see a stunning floral display. The Fall colors are also fantastic.
Day 4
Today, the horses will rest and you will instead learn about Transylvania’s exciting history. You head off from the riding center and drive for about 1½ hours to the medieval village of Viscri. Attractions here include the famous fortified church dating from the Turkish invasion. In Viscri, you will be served a traditional Saxon meal with homemade wine and plum brandy. After the visit to Viscri, you continue to the town of Sighisoara and its well-preserved medieval old town. Both Sighisoara and Viscri are listed on UNESCO’S World Heritage List.
You return to the riding center in the evening.
Day 5 and 6
A two-day tour of about 40km (25 miles) that involves riding over rolling hills and through deep woods together with some long gallops. In the afternoon, you reach an area where time seems to have stood still. Here people's lives have not changed much since the Middle Ages. The small mountain farms still use bullocks and horses and many lack running water and electricity. You will camp overnight at one of these farms. Tents, sleeping bags and food etc. will be provided. You will enjoy a dinner cooked over a campfire before it's time to crawl into your sleeping bags. You might even be able to hear the howling of wolves in the distance ....? In the morning you ride through the forests of Transylvania where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Carpathian Mountains. You return to the riding center in the afternoon.
Day 7
Your last ride for the week takes you in a great arc around Sinca Noua, through woods and across meadows where you can enjoy both galloping and beautiful views. After three hours riding, you will return to Sinca Noua in time for lunch.
You then travel to Bran Castle, known as Dracula's Castle.
Day 8
Time to say goodbye and head home. After breakfast, you are driven to the airport in Bucharest.
Minimum Number 4 riders.
Other:
Depending on season and weather you may be offered a trip to a hide in the forest where you can see wild brown bears, foxes and even wolves. (30 EUR extra).
One day, instead of dinner at the riding center, you may be offered a visit to a genuine shepherd’s camp. There, you will see how to milk sheep and make cheese. The trip ends with a barbecue of roast mutton and traditional shepherds’ fare. Note that this opportunity is yet to be finalized, as the location of the shepherd’s camp has not been determined.
Reservation
We reserve the right to change the day-to-day program due to weather and other local conditions, without affecting the program's character.
The riding centre, built in 2004, combines local traditions with western standards. The centre has a new, tasteful and modern guest house with 9 double rooms and private bathrooms. Two living rooms, one with a fireplace and bar that is inviting for relaxing evenings. Downstairs there is a pleasant dining room and there is a large veranda outside where you can sit in the summer. There is free wireless internet throughout the building.
