The most popular mountain resorts in Romania line the Prahova valley, but places like the Apuseni Mountains, Bucovina or Valea Jiului also attract countless tourists.
Straja Resort Photo: Bunzac Media, Montana Complex.
More than 200 kilometers of ski slopes have been arranged in the mountain resorts in Romania, but snow is not the only tourist attraction offered by the recreation areas. Some resorts have been known as places to relax in winter and to start mountain expeditions since the beginning of the 20th century.
Other such places were discovered by the Romanians during the decades of communism, when in the previously wild land of the mountains, they started hydropower projects, the hydropower plants on Lotru and Retezat, or the first roads were built that opened access to the crests of the Carpathian mountains.
Some mountain resorts developed only after 1990, around small mountain huts used by hikers in the past. Currently, there are about 40 mountain resorts in Romania, and with the arrival of winter, most of them are crowded with tourists.
The most popular mountain resorts – Poiana Brașov
Located near the city of Brașov, at over 1,000 meters above sea level in the Postăvaru Massif, the Poiana Brașov resort has been a popular spot for skiers since the beginning of the 20th century.
Poiana Brasov. Photo: discoverpoiana.ro
It developed in the middle of the last century, with the construction of the first Poiana – Postăvaru cable car, and currently 12 ski slopes have been developed here.
Moeciu area. Photo: Lucian Ignat
Access is from Brașov or Râșnov. Near it, in Brașov county, tourists can relax in the mountain resorts of Bran – famous for its medieval castle -, in Moeciu, Râșnov and Timișu de Sus.
The most popular mountain resorts – Valea Prahova
The Sinaia mountain resort has become a sought-after place for tourists since the end of the 19th century, with the construction of the road and the Brașov – Ploiești de Valea Prahova railway and the construction of the Peleș Castle.
Especially. Photo: Predeal City Hall.
Inaugurated in 1883, Peleş Castle was built at the initiative of King Carol I, to serve as his summer residence, invested with political, cultural and symbolic functions, and over time it became one of the great tourist attractions in Prahova Valley.
The towns of Sinaia, Predeal, Bușteni, Azuga have developed around the emblematic place on Valea Prahova. Poiana Țapului, Breaza, Cheia and Vălenii de Munte, which have become tourist resorts.
Along with the sought-after snow resorts in the Prahova Valley, tourists can explore tourist attractions such as the Sphinx and Babel, the Caraiman Cross, Peleș, Pelișor, Cantacuzino castles, the Sinaia and Caraiman monasteries, caves, lakes and other natural monuments in the Bucegi Mountains.
The most popular mountain resorts – Parâng Massif
The “highest” mountain resorts in Romania are located in the Parâng Massif and have become popular only in recent years, some thanks to the slopes at over 2,000 meters.
The story of the Rânca resort in the Parâng Massif began with the construction of the Transalpina road, in the 1930s, the mountain road that crosses the Carpathians reaching an altitude of over 2,100 meters, in the Urdele Pass.
Lake Otter. Source: Voineasa. Facebook
But the road was paved only in the 2000s on its entire distance of 140 kilometers between Sebeș and Novaci, passing through the Rânca tourist area. And with the complete opening of the road, both Rânca and other tourist areas in the Parâng Massif began to expand.
One of them was the Voineasa resort – the Transalpina Ski Area, located in the vicinity of Lake Vidra in the Lotrului Mountains.
The reservoir and hydropower plants on Lotru were built in the 70s, and since then the Romanian state has started developing resorts in the area. However, the poor road infrastructure kept tourists away from the recreational areas.
For almost a decade, in the vicinity of the Oașa Reservoir (video) from the Sebeșului Valley – crossed by the Transalpina, the Șureanu Ski Area, from Alba, was also developed, with slopes located at over 2,000 meters, close to the mountain peaks that have kept the remains of the Roman forts over 1,900 years old.
The most popular mountain resorts – Jiului Valley
Located 1400 – 1600 meters below the Straja peak (1,868 meters) in the Vâlcan Mountains, the Straja mountain resort in Hunedoara (video) is among the most sought-after recreational spots in winter, being particularly attractive for its wide and accessible ski slopes in winter, maintained with artificial snow when the precipitation is not sufficient for their development.
Like the neighboring resorts in the Jiului Valley, Parâng and the Vâlcan Pass, the Straja mountain resort developed in the last two decades, when the Romanian state sought, through investments in tourism, to rehabilitate the mining area of the Jiului Valley, which entered economic decline after the gradual closure of coal mines.
More than 200 guesthouses and holiday homes have been built in Straja and are available to tourists during the winter, at prices more affordable than those in Poiana Brașov and the resorts on Valea Prahova. Accommodation, ski slopes of several kilometers and mountain hiking trails accessible in winter can also be found in Parâng resort, close to the Straja recreation area.
The most popular mountain resorts – Apuseni Mountains
Vârtop and Arieseni, two neighboring resorts on the border of Alba and Bihor counties, are sought after in winter both for their ski slopes and as starting points for hiking trails in the Apuseni Mountains.
In the central area of the mountain range is the Apuseni National Park, whose territory rich in natural monuments is divided between the counties of Cluj, Bihor and Alba. The park was established in the early 2000s, almost a century after the highlands were proposed by scientists to become nature reserves. Also in Apuseni, tourists can relax in winter at Stâna de vale, a resort in Bihor county, located at about 1,100 meters above sea level.
Other popular mountain resorts in Romania, in winter, are: Bâlea Lac, Muntele Mic, Semenic, Văliug, Borșa, Cavnic, Păltiniș, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Gura Humorului, Vatra Dornei, Soveja, Horezu, Durău, Lacu Roșu, Miercurea Ciuc, Praid.
