Paltinis – Romania’s oldest mountain resort

Paltinis is a mountain resort situated in Transylvania, Romania only 35 km away from Sibiu. It is situated at a high altitude ( 1440 m) which makes it a top pick for both national and international tourists due to its breathtaking views over the surrounding mountains. Founded in 1894, Paltinis is the oldest mountain resort in the country as well as the highest.

ROADTRIP FROM BUCHAREST TO PALTINIS

As I live in Bucharest, Romania, it took me around a 5-hour road trip (including 2 stops) to finally reach Paltinis. However, I cannot complain for one bit – the views I saw before reaching this beautiful mountain resort impressed me to an extent I never thought possible. There are only 300 km from Bucharest to Paltinis but only 100 of them are on the highway. After you leave the highway, get ready to be amazed by breathtaking views on the famous Valea Oltului ( Olt Valley -a valley on the edge of the Olt river).

TIP: make sure you stop at the OMV gas station situated exactly on the edge of the Olt river. If you are lucky enough to be there on a sunny day, you will be shocked by how beautiful the view is from that gas station. (as seen in the photos below).

ACCOMODATION IN PALTINIS

If you aren’t already familiar with my way of writing about a trip, you should know that I always dedicate a section for accommodation.

We chose to stay at Pensiunea RaRa (https://www.rarapaltinis.ro) – a beautiful guest house just opposite of Arena Platos. It has its own restaurant (where we ate most of our meals because the food was absolutely delicious) and amazing views from the rooms (as shown below).

THINGS TO DO

Paltinis is mostly known for mountain bike trails and hikes during the summer and ski during the winter season. Even though the resort is quite small, there is a variety of things that one can indulge in when visiting.

If you visit it in the summer, make sure you go for hikes – it is an absolute must in this region! There are so many different trails with different levels of difficulty so even though you are not a professional hiker, there is a trail for you. Moreover, there is an outdoor activities park called ARKA PARK just 24 km away from Sibiu – the park offers several tree trails for adults and kids alike.

Arena Platos – one of the must see places for both summer and winter trips. Why is that you wonder? Well, during the winter season, this place turns into the perfect ski destination with several ski slopes and after ski bars. During the summer season, Arena Platos prides itself with numerous mountain bike contests. Moreover, hikers from all around the country come here for the popular forest trails. In addition, Arena Platos is extremely children friendly with activities such as a playground, a trampoline and even a summer sleigh. (You can check out the website that has both a summer and a winter interface for activities that take place at Arena Platos —- https://arenaplatos.ro/vara.html )

Personal tip : To be honest, I never considered myself an outdoor enthusiast and hiking was never really something I liked doing. However, after this weekend trip everything changed. Even though I never actually liked hiking I always loved exploring new places and that unbeatable felling of not knowing what to expect. For that reason, I thought I should start thinking of hiking as a way of exploring new places, hidden spots. And so, by adopting this mindset, I ended up hiking everyday and as a consequence, I stumbled across such beautiful places as seen below.

Day trip/ evening trip to Sibiu

https://www.sibiucity.ro/index.php/en

Sibiu is a medieval city situated in South-Eastern Transylvania with a population of 155.000.Due to its economic evolution in the past years, Sibiu is internationaly recognised and attracts tourists from all around the world. The city is considered to be the biggest hub on Romanian territory for the German minority which is why it is also known as Hermannstadt. Moreover, Sibiu is one of the most representative cities from Romania in terms of tourism, culture and economy. The city has its own charm and it prides itself with its clean and organised streets. My personal opinion is that this is a must see city in Romania especially if you find yourself in Paltinis. If it it the first time visiting it, I would suggest taking an entire day to explore Sibiu and all its attractions such as Podul Minciunilor (The Bridge of Lies), The Brukenthal National Museum, Piata Mare, Piata Mica and the Council Tower of Sibiu.

All pics are taken by me !!

Overall, even though the coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire traveling industry and community, I am grateful that I get the chance to focus on local traveling for the summer and thus, discover such beautiful places within my country.

My advice ? Try to see the bright side of this extremely uncertain situation that the pandemic has caused and try to focus on discovering beautiful places near where you live. I know I did and I got to see some breathtaking places within Romania.

Xx,

Anna