Bucharest
The country’s capital and the biggest city of Romania, also known as ‘Little Paris’.
The whole of Romania, especially Transylvania and the Carpathians, is rich in flora and fauna. Butterflies and wildflowers are especially plentiful and exciting for specialists and amateurs alike.
Whilst the medieval culture and villages are well known, it is the wildlife and wilderness that many people come to see, and Romania still offers areas of outstanding and unexplored natural beauty. The dense pine forests and clear mountain streams of the Carpathian Mountains support a third of Europe’s brown bears, as well as wolves and lynx, and the rich delta of the Danube is home to over 320 species of birds.
Romania is one of Central Europe’s most beautiful but least explored countries and remains more fascinating because of it. The Transylvania region offers a tapestry of tourist attractions, from traditional gypsy villages and fairy-tale castles to the majestic Carpathian Mountains, the source of nearly 98% of the county’s rivers.
Romania has 250,000 hectares of virgin forest, mostly in the Southern Carpathians, which constitutes the largest unfragmented forest area in Europe. They contain an extraordinarily high number of indigenous species, one-third of all European plant species and are home to the largest European populations of wolves, bears and lynx.
Steppes Travel emphatically believes that travel in Romania is best in the company of a good guide. To that end, we have hand-picked the very best guides to ensure you get the most out of your visit to Romania. Our guides know the must-see sights, the off-the-beaten-path gems, the hiking trails, the best places to eat, and also, more importantly, know the right people. For example, as they are wary of outsiders, it would be all but impossible to visit a Roma community without a guide. Our guides are old friends, having attended weddings and funerals, and are able to open the door to wonderful people, their folklore and their traditional crafts.
Historically the buffer state between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Porte, Transylvania was once a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Now part of Romania, this fledgeling kingdom has absorbed a diversity of cultures including Hungarians, Saxons, Romanians, Jews, Armenians, Swabians and Roma. This blend of cultures, architectural styles and traditions make Transylvania a fascinating destination.
It’s all here. Things to see and do, places to explore and moments to discover.
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