Hiking
When you leave the pension (regardless of the hiking destination you set) you will find to be in the perfect geometrical starting place!
You may begin a leisurely walk through the village, among meadows with wild flowers whose names you had never known. This will prove to be one of the most gentle, serene and comforting hike you have ever been on.
You may set out for a specific place, officially labeled as a “landmark” – recommended by a friend, or discovered while browsing the internet. This will turn out to be an intense and focused hike, the goal of which is gathering knowledge.
But if you have the unusual curiosity to reconnect to the life that is still pulsating, unaltered by men’s civilizing interventions – you will head to the protected areas. The nature proves here to be simply spectacular – this will undoubtedly lead you to a hike that aligns you with the outside world that stretches far beyond our power to control, but simply wants you to be a silent part of it.

Some of the most popular tourist routes that access protected natural areas are available here:
Mara Village – Hopșia Valley – Stone Table – Rooster’s Crest Reservation. A 12-km medium difficulty route (on forest road and trail) of about 4-5 hours, marked by a blue cross.
Breb Village – Morarenilor Lake – Măriuţei Road – Stone Table – Rooster’s Crest Reservation. An 8.5 km medium difficulty route (on forest road and trail) of about 3-4 hours, marked by a red cross.
Mara Village – Crivini Valley – Tătarului Gorge – Brazilor Meadow – Dumitru Lake. A 24-km easy difficulty route (on gravel road and trail) of about 7-9 hours, marked by red cross.
Hoteni – Hoteni Lakes. A 2-km light difficulty level route (on dirt road and trail) of about half an hour, marked by a red cross.
Șugatag Village – Iezerul Mare – Tătaru Meadow – Tătarului Gorge – Mara Valley – Mara Village. A 20-km medium difficulty route (on dirt and gravel roads).
To be closer to nature and for a complete ecotourism experience, in which the life of the village is revealed to you in detail, you can choose easy hikes around the villages.
Designed to be covered in any season, by all tourists, they are also suitable for children or seniors, requiring only trekking equipment and, depending on the weather, protection from rain or too much sun.
Budești route: Popasul La Fogădău – Borcutul Breb – Măgura Popii – Drumul Mlăci – Groapa Botencii. A 5,8 km easy difficulty route of about 1,5-2 hours, marked by yellow, marked by yellow hiker. Download route coordinates.
Breb route: Breb – Breboaia Valley – Jewish Cemetery – Muncelu Hill – Stone Bridge – Breboaia Valley -Breb. A 5-km easy difficulty route of about 2,5-3 hours, marked by the red hiker. Download route coordinates.
Desești route: Desești – narrow-gauge railway embankment – St. Paraschiva wooden church, UNESCO heritage – Mara River – Dâmbul Frumos – Măreasca Valley – Mara River -Desești. A 6,3 km easy difficulty route of about 3-3,5 hours, marked by the red hiker. Download route coordinates.
Călinești route: Călinesti – Popii street – Gruiet Peak – Ponorele – Popii street – Călinești. A 5,1 km easy difficulty route of about 2-2,5 hours, marked by the red hiker. Download route coordinates.
And then there are, of course, trips that enrich our being and help us understand more:
GO TO BREB if you want to see traditional Maramureș houses that still endure in this area; go to BUDEŞTI and CĂLINEŞTI and taking the side streets there look at the carved ancestral symbols on the Maramureș wooden gates – motifs of the sun, wolf fangs, the tree of life and the rope. Cosău Valley still preserves intact traditional architecture islands – wood constructions and samples of village engineering, alike.
THEN TAKE THE MARAMUREȘ HERITAGE TRAIL – the 88 km Greenway, specially designed for hiking and bike riding, lines as in a necklace the major tourist sights of the Mara-Cosău-Rooster’s Crest area – natural monuments, protected areas, illustrative wood culture architectural sights. The Maramureș Heritage Road can be traveled leisurely in several days – there is no hurry.
If you feel that such a trip would enrich your holidays, contact Greenway Tour.
OTHERWISE, ASK WITH CONFIDENCE INFORMATION AND ADVICE from the owner of the guesthouse where you are staying; she or he is the one who knows the area best and will tell you what you can visit – depending on available time, physical condition and preferences.
AN ALTERNATIVE OPTION is to contact (prior to your trip) authorized guides from the area – they can create custom routes, according to your desires and needs.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Outside the villages pay attention to the dogs guarding sheepfolds – do not get too close to them. They are beautiful, but also very aggressive – they are trained to protect the sheepfold at all costs against everything that is “foreign”, so they will bark with a ferocity that you have never encountered with dogs living among humans. Do not be afraid, but keep distance – promptly call out the shepherd as he is the only one the dogs will obey.