Paltinis to Cindrel Peak

A favourite route into the Transylvania mountains for our editor, Larisa Chinces, this is Transylvania mountain biking at its best.

Route Information

Stats:  34 km and  472 metres of ascent

Refreshments

Nearby Sibiu is our chosen base for this ride out into the hills. It has ample accommodation places, and lots of choices of restaurants. Transylnavania is a great mountain bike location and Paltinis is a super introduction.

Start and Finish: Paltinis near Sibiu, Transylvania.

Character

The route I’ll take today is easy, relaxed and disconnected from the urban environment. The route starts from Sibiu, and until reaching Paltinis there is a distance of about 30 km that can be reached by car or by bus (about 15 lei / ticket and 40 minutes distance). The Paltinis-Vf. Cindrel is about 5 hours and during the summertime you have to have a raincoat because the weather is quite changing.


Route

1. From Paltinis, it is 1 hour to Poiana Gaujoara, through a beautiful forest like in fairytales. The route is single trail and the difficulty is medium. Poiana Gaujoara is a glade full of vegetation in the middle of a spruce forest.

2. Now, it’s uphill to Batrana (1911 m), where a weather station is located. From the alpine hut, the route is simplified because it is only on the crest in the sun. From the trail you can see the Fagaras mountains behind you and on the left you can see the crest of the Lotru mountains.

3. The road to the Canaia hut has a low difficulty level and wonderful scenery to stop and take in.

The trail stops at the Canaia hut, where you need to be aware that it’s not open permanently, but only if the landowner is announced in advance. So do try to check with locals and in in nearby shops and hotels. If open, there you can sleep, rest and eat before setting off on the rest of your Romanian adventure.

4. From here to the final destination of the trip is approximately 1 hour – one half hour. The trail passes through a juniper, followed by the Cindrel Nature Reservation, which during the summer, when the peony is blooming, is covered with a pink/violet color to a very pleasant honey, a gorgeous landscape from which you hardly go away. Then it’s an uphill ride or hike to the Cindrel Peak, where there are a few push bike sections for everyone!

5. However, as much as you liked the route, you will love the top scenery from Cindrel Peak (2244m) where the view leaves you breathless, and thankful that you climbed up.

6. Now, all that’s left is to pick your point of decent, and enjoy the flying speed as you race through our amazing mountains, hopefully dreaming of further visits and new routes to explore – you’ll always be welcome, and there’s so many mountain valleys to choose from!

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