Back to the Buila-Vânturarița National Park for the third time in the last years, this time with a quite heavy backpack and on a quite long and not so easy trail.
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SPAs in Romania have a long history and this because the country is full of natural springs, with waters that have been known for centuries (even millennia) to heal people. These places would normally be the highlights of a country that knows well how to promote its treasures, but in Romania most of them are in very bad condition, slowly turning into ruins. Same story with Băile Govora, a SPA in the South of Romania.
The world situation this year, that inevitably also affected Romania beginning of March, made us reconsider our options when we heard rumors about a possible lock-down, with being allowed to only go out to get supplies. With a 5 year-old in the house, the kindergarten closed, us both working remote, full time, we had to figure something out that would allow us to spend time outdoors and to keep our daughter busy while we had to be in front of computers 8 hours a day.
We first heard about this place a couple of years ago and when checking it out more in detail, we were completely mesmerized by the idea of being in a remote area, in the beautiful Romanian mountains and exploring the surroundings on the back of a horse.
I think autumn was the season we never got the chance to go hiking and after this trip, I’m still deciding which season I like more for hiking – spring with everything turning green and so many flowers, summer with its clear skies and mild weather, autumn with the forest full of burgundy tones or winter with its never ending snow.
On a Sunday afternoon on the road from Vâlcea to Sibiu, we decided on the spot to have a small detour and visit the Lotrişor Waterfall. The road along the Olt River is one of the most crowded roads from Romania, but at the same time it is very beautiful, crossing the Cozia National Park.
Although the southern part of Romania doesn’t have that much to offer in terms of history as does Transylvania, there are still some hidden gems, proof of our long history and civilization.
Buila-Vânturariţa is, still, one of the hidden gems of Romania. I’m sure that this will not be for long, so I’m happy that we finally managed to get to this place and had such a nice weather and perfect companion to explore the area for one weekend.
The motto of our blog, taken from Forrest Gump, says “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”, well this article fits perfectly to this motto.
The weather this summer is very unstable. We have very hot summer days with over 30-35°C and then in the evening strong thunderstorms and hail. We have rapid temperature changing from one day to the other. This makes thinks difficult for us when we plan to travel or to go hiking in the mountains, especially with a baby. The same thing happened one month ago, when we planned to go to the Buila-Vânturariţa National Park.
So we decided not to go up on the mountain and instead we chose to go to the nearby town Horezu and admire some traditional pottery. Horezu ceramics are a unique handmade traditional craft and were inscribed in 2012 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
To the Cozia National Park we’ve been before, two years ago in July more exactly, so it’s not the first time we wonder around these beautiful mountains. But, as we still had some more to discover up on the cliffs and as some of our friends have never been here before, we planned another trip over one not so warm and sunny weekend in July.
The Chocolates Of Life 