Experience traditional village life

Daily schedule:

For inspiration, here is how the week can look like:

Day 1. First we transfer and settle in at Rimetea. After a welcoming traditional lunch, we learn about the rich and unique Szeklers' heritage and about their crafts and occupations. We visit the workshop of a furniture painter where we can also paint our own wooden boxes.

Day 2. We find out the story of salt by visiting a gorgeous underground salt mine, impressive through its depth, size and echo. In the afternoon we hike on the nearby imposing mountain (1100 meters high) which has served as shelter in time of assault for the community. A good place to discuss Transylvania’s history and identity.

Day 3.  In the morning we transfer to the heartland of Transylvania’ shepherding region, Jina. In the afternoon we learn about the community history and life and visit the local ethnographic museum.

Day 4. We learn the secrets of wood carving and hopefully make our own fork that we could use for lunch. In the afternoon we participate in the daily routine of a small farm, pile a haystack, feed the animals and work in the garden.

Day 5. We visit a blacksmith, busy with producing needed metal objects for the household and hopefully making horseshoes and putting them on. We visit a village fortress at Câlnic, UNESCO heritage site, afterwards go to a pottery workshop where we learn to make our own bowls and pots.

Day 6. We wake up early morning to go to sheepfold, milk sheep and learn how cheese is made. There we meet a local shepherd family in their electricity free sheepfold at 1200 meters altitude where they tend for their flock. We can spend the rest of the day there or wander through the mountainous countryside, plenty of berries in the summer.

Day 7. Relaxing morning and transfer to Cluj-Napoca or Sibiu to end the trip or start a new stage of your holidays in Transylvania or other regions of Romania.

If your passion is castles and built heritage, you might consider for holidays the "Transylvania's castles" itinerary. Or, if your heart beats for photography, you can join us for a Photography workshop.

Also, we can help you craft from 0 a tailor-made holiday in Transylvania or other regions of Romania for your group, please click here to get started.

Please feel free to contact us by email for any questions or inquirie at info@viatransylvania.com.

Detailed tour information

Getting to Cluj-Napoca

To Cluj-Napoca airport you can fly with the following airlines:

• WizzAir from Dortmund, Weeze, Barcelona, Beauvais-Tillé, London-Luton, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia, Pisa, Venice-Treviso, Zaragoza, Alicante, Cuneo, Forlì, Larnaca
• Tarom from Frankfurt, Vienna and Bucharest. To Bucharest you can fly with airlines such as Air-France, BA, Alitalia, Austrian, KLM, Lufthansa, El Al, LOT, Turkish or low cost airlines such as WizzAir, GermanWings, BlueAir.
• Malev from Budapest

You can also reach Cluj-Napoca by train or by bus with Eurolines or Atlassib.

The region

Mărginimea Sibiului is a region comprising 18 localities in the south-western part of the Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, being united by an unique ethnological, cultural, architectural and historical heritage.

Villages are situated around the valleys of different rivers which flow from the Cindrel Mountains through the Transylvanian Plateau.

The oldest known village from this region is Răşinari, which dates from 1204. Throughout their history, these settlements were sometimes part of the Romanian principality of Wallachia.

Predominantly, the people were shepherds who continuously crossed the Carpathian Mountains, maintaining the essential link between the Romanian communities to the north and south of the mountains. Activities closely related to shepherding, such as wool and leather manufacturing, are still well maintained in the area to this day.

The area has a rich variety of customs related to different times of the year and in life. To this day, it is a custom to wear the traditional folk costume - black and white, with a particular round shaped hat without borders worn by the men at the most important occasions.