Mount Tâmpa

Brașov, the mountain city

My friends and I decide to climb the Mount Tâmpa for the first time in the winter.

We take a free ride with the train because we are still students from Bucharest to Brașov and so our one day trip begins.

Where is Brașov located and why we go there?

Brașov is ranking as one of the most visited cities in Romania. Located in the center of the country, Brașov is both a beautiful area to live in and an important touristy destination because it has a lot to offer, from old wonderful historical buildings to nearby mountains with endless forests and breath taking landscapes.

How to go to Brașov?

A journey with an interregio train from Bucharest to Brașov takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The ticket costs around 50 lei, the price meaning 10 euros and a couple of cents.

Besides the railways, the roads connecting the capital of Romania and Brașov are A3 - the București-Ploiești free way - and DN1, a national road between Ploiești and the entrance of Brașov county.

In the weekends and on free days or holidays, DN1 gets crowded and very crowded, this road putting at test the driver's patience.

Actually, with the train is not that much of a difference because there are many people using this way of transportation and the trains can be crowded too. The posibility of not finding available train tickets is very big, that's why is recommended to buy the tickets in advance.

Where to go for climbing Mount Tâmpa?

We arrive at Brașov railway station from where we buy bus tickets costing 5 lei - circa 1 euro - and we hop on the bus number 4.

We take off at the bus station near the Brașov's City Hall and walk from here for about 18 minutes to '' Sub Tâmpa'' restaurant located on Tiberiu Brediceanu, a pedestrian alley from which the hiking routes start.

"Serpentinelor" trail

The way up the Mount Tâmpa is called ''Drumul Serpentinelor'' and is marked with a red triangle.

The trail has an easy difficulty but the fresh snow makes it tough to climb on.

We are not rushing, we enjoy the landscape and the fresh cold air as much as possible. As we go higher and higher, the view over Brașov opens in front of us looking like a city from a fairytale story with red roof houses covered in snow and grey smoke coming out of the chimneys.

Taking a hike or a cable car for going up the mountain?

There is also a cable car that goes from the pedestrian alley to the top of the Mount Tâmpa where the Brașov sign is proudly positioned.

For the people who are not used to climbing especially in the winter period, the cable car can be a good option. Otherwise, the path following the red triangle is indicated as being a beginner hiking trail, perfect either in the summer or winter.

Thus, the equipment is still pretty much necessary and the hiking boots should not be missed from nobody's feet.

The Black Church, Brașov's landmark

The down town is dominated by the Black Church. The construction is visible and well groundedamong the other buildings surrounding it, being actually the largest gothic building from south-eastern Europe. The height of the construction measures almost 90 meters and inside of it could enter at once circa 5000 people.

The Black Church is dating back to the medieval ages of the 14th and 15th centuries as a construction that survived the turkish invasion in the 17th century when the church was also set on fire. The walls became black and from then the building has been named '' The Black Church'', a name still used today.

The top of the mountain, the Brașov's sign

After we climb all of the 25 '' serpentine'', we reach the top of the mountain and go to the sight seeing where is placed the romanian version of the Holywood sign. The point is called '' belvedere '' because from here it opens up a large view over the city.

Small history of Brașov

It's time to look over the city and remember for a brief moment its history. The medieval city that's in front of our eyes is dating back to the 13th century when the Teutonic Knights had been settled in Țara Bârsei region. Here, they were building the oldest construction of the city, namely The Church of Saint Bartolomeu.

The early gothic style of the church's architecture can be seen today in the quarter with the same name, Bartolomeu, located on Lungă street.

The landscape from the top of the mountain

Brașov and it's surroundings are totally covered in snow. It is wonderful. Everything is still and quite. The hiking had for sure worth the view.

Mount Tâmpa is a part of the Postăvaru Massif and it has a height of 960 meters. It is cold and very windy up here, so we can't stay longer to admire the view. Staying in one place is not recommended during a hike especially in the winter time. We start to walk and soon we follow a different path that would lead us down the mountain.

This time, the trail is marked with a yellow triangle and it's known as '' Treptele lui Gabony'' trail. Again, the forest is beautiful. The snow is getting bigger and bigger as we enter deeper into the woods. The trees are tilted due to the heavy layer of snow.

We discover another seight seeing over the city of Brașov. The landscape is fantastic. We can see how Brașov is literally surrounded by mountains. Nobody is on this trail route, just us and the feeling is amaizing.

Going down is getting a bit harder then going up because of the slippery path. We go down the stairs of Gabony and intersect the pedestrian alley from which we started walking earlier in the morning.

Our hiking day has been a success. Everybody is feeling okay and is in a good health condition. We are starving by this moment and to solve the problem we go to our favorite pizza spot in the city.

The food is delicious maybe because we are so hungry after a full day of hiking through the fresh cold air.

We take a taxi to the main train station and return safely to our homes.