Hiking Romania: where you might meet bears

Romania is developing its range of offers for tourists. Organizers are increasingly relying on tourism that’s close to nature, such as guided hikes in the Carpathian Mountains – with encounters with brown bears.

The snow is deep at an altitude of 1,700 meters (5,577 feet) in the Carpathian Mountains. There is no sign of a hiking path, but Radu Zaharie knows his way around here. The sun is shining and the moment is perfect. “We now have a clear view to the north. To the north-west we can see the Depression of Sibiu, and way off you can see the eastern Carpathians. On really good days, especially in the winter, when we have these really cold days, there is a chance to see the entire Carpathian Mountain range all the way to the Ukraine, a vista of over 600 kilometers,” he explains.

“If you think of crossing the Carpathians, then some for instance want a ridge walk in the Fagaras Mountains, which means hiking from hut to hut in the Piatra Craiului Mountains National Park. But then there are also packages designed for those guests who say they want a little more comfort. Rather than spending the night in a mountain-ridge hut on a plank bed, they prefer a nice guest house with a steam bath. And where they can watch wild animals, like bears, and more.”

Encountering bears while on a hike is a distinct possibility, but tourists should not be afraid of them, says our expert: “For brown bears, humans are of no interest whatsoever. Humans would have to do a lot of silly things for a bear to pose a threat to them. Remember we are talking about European brown bears. These are not to be confused with Grizzly bears.”

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