The Ultimate Hiking Guide To Romania's Carpathians

When is the right time to visit the Carpathians?

The weather in the Carpathians can be a mystery sometimes. Although these are medium-altitude mountains, (highest point: 2544 meters, The Moldoveanu Peak), don’t underestimate them.

The best time to hike up the 1600m+ peaks is May-November, because during the rest of the year, there is almost always considerable avalanche risk.

But even during this period, you should nonetheless be prepared for all types of weather. It has  happened many times for me to start out in ~30 degrees Celsius weather (at ~800 meters elevation), only to face rain, cold, strong wind, and annoying fog just two hours later, at over 1500 meters altitude.

  1. Check the weather forecast. ANM is the National Weather Authority in Romania and it’s very easy to check their weather warnings here. Another good information source is mountain-forecast.com
  2. Plan your route considering the weather conditions. Is it going to rain at lunchtime, but your hike to the cabin is 3 hours long? Leave earlier in the morning. Or don’t leave at all.

Extra tip: the yellow code in the mountains is not a good thing.

Tips:

  1. Never forget your waterproof equipment: rain jacket (min. 10.000 mm, summer rains are strong)/poncho; rain-proof trousers, and a backpack rain cover. Bring extra socks and T-Shirts with you.
  2. GLOVES! ‌The rain or wind can freeze your hands even in August. I strongly recommend taking a pair of gloves along.
  3. Sometimes it gets so cold that your phone battery dies. Another reason why you need a power bank and a paper map.
  4. Bring sun protection:‌ glasses; sunscreen (min. 50 SPF); a hat or a buff.

What animals are here? How should you behave?

Dogs that are not friendly, bears that are shy, vipers that are introverts and ticks. Annoying ticks.

Herding dogs

The herding dogs found in the Carpathians are huge, beautiful, hungry almost all the time and never friendly (maybe they are hangry). If during your hike you see a group of sheep close-by (in a fold or not), it’s almost certain that there will be dogs with them as well.

These dogs don’t like strangers at all. They don’t want to attack you, they just want to protect their herd, so you need to make them understand that you’re not a threat.

How do you show them that you’re not there to kill sheep? insert continuous barking while reading the following steps

  1. Don’t panic. Don’t start running. Instead, start shouting and calling out to the Shepherd. He might be the peace-maker. Usually, the shepherds will hear you and will call their dogs back.
  2. If the Shepherd doesn’t hear you or if he does not help you (it can happen sometimes), take some biscuits (or any food) in your hand. Try to follow your path calmly.
  3. If the dogs are coming to you, don’t panic and stop moving. Get closer to your hiking buddies and prepare yourself for a weird meeting. The dogs will usually group in front of you and they will bark at you.
  4. Use your secret weapons: your voice and biscuits (or any food). Channel your inner public speaker and talk to the dogs in a gentle way. Share your biscuits generously. Please, don’t try to pet the dogs. I know they are beautiful, but no, don’t do it.
  5. While they are eating, start walking away (calmly!), face oriented towards the dogs (if they attack, they will do it only from behind, so protect your back).
  6. Drop some more biscuits to the ground every now and then. They will finish eating their food (Gosh, they eat so fast!) and will want to check up on you. But you don’t want this, so you can avoid another face-to-face discussion with them by giving them some more food breaks.

Don’t worry though, these situations don’t occur too often, but they are more frequent and more likely to happen than running into a bear.

Don’t forget, if things go wrong, either call the Mountain Rescue team (called Salvamont in Romanian), and they will always guide you: +40 0Salvamont (0725826668), or the National Emergency Number, 112.

Bears

Don’t worry, compared to herding dogs, they are rather shy. That’s why you need to make the first move. To avoid a meeting, that is.

Romania has the largest number of brown bears in Europe. This means that no matter where you go in the Carpathians, it’s very likely that a bear was wandering about there at some point.

The number of bear encounters during hikes is small (compared to those with herding dogs). You should keep in mind a few things to avoid bumping into a bear:

  1. Whenever walking or hiking through a forest, make loud noises. Talk loudly, sing, hit the rocks with your trekking poles, shout from time to time (but not as you would when calling for help), or blow a whistle. You can also make use of your Bluetooth speakers, if you have one, but you might disturb other hikers on the trails.
  2. You will often find bear tracks on your path. If the ground is wet and you can still see the tracks clearly, you may need to follow the instructions above more often, over a short period of time.
  3. When camping, don’t keep food in your tent. Instead, put the food up in a tree, preferably 2-300 meters away from the camping area. Same goes for empty food and drink packaging. Alternatively, you can bury it in the ground – but don’t forget to take it with you when you leave.

Snakes

Don’t worry, we only have one dangerous snake species, the Viper. Vipers love sunshine and warm rocks, so be careful when taking a break. Who likes being disturbed while getting a tan, after all?  Certainly not the Vipers.

If you see a snake, don’t move. Snakes are usually introverts and they will leave. If you come upon a lazy snake and it doesn’t want to go away, try to avoid the area where it’s hanging out and continue your path.

That being said, sometimes you can’t see the snake, which means you can still get bitten (they love hiding in the grass or simply lie on the ground).

Vipers usually bite in response to your actions. Your most exposed areas are the lower parts of your legs. This is one of multiple reasons why you need to wear high cut hiking boots. Another way to protect yourself from snake bites is by wearing long hiking socks (preferably Merino wool ones).

If you get bitten by a Viper:

  1. The first rule is to try to calm down. Stop screaming, don’t run, don’t do anything that can increase your blood flow. Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol.
  2. Lie down, while keeping the bitten area below heart level, refrain from moving, and call the National Emergency Number, 112, and try to guide them to your location. Listen to their advice.

!! DO NOT try to suck out the venom from the bitten area. Instead, you can try to clean it with water or alcohol.

  1. If you get the chills, try to keep yourself warm with extra clothes or an emergency survival blanket.
  2. Apply a gauze bandage roll on the area (NOT like a tourniquet!) and wait for the rescue team. Fingers crossed.

Ticks

Out of all the creatures on this list, these are the most common, aggressive and annoying. Even dangerous.

You can’t know where they are hiding. Ticks live in the grass or they rest on a tree – then they see you, and they begin the landing procedure on you.

  1. Try to avoid walking away from the marked path, especially in areas with tall grass or bushes. Also, wear insect repellant (Peppermint Oil is the most common one).
  2. Don’t wear shorts. I know, it’s hot in the summer but do yourself a favour and wear pants.
  3. Make sure to have a tick extractor or tweezers in your Safety Kit. They might be useful.

In case you spot a tick on you, try to keep calm and start the extraction procedure as follows:

Place the tick extractor or the tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Grip the tick. Pull upwards. Don’t twist and don’t apply too much pressure (your goal here is to extract the tick). After removing it, clean the area with alcohol or soap + water. Apply a band-aid.

Monitor yourself and if you start running a fever or if you develop any other symptoms, see a doctor ASAP. Tell him all about your annoying friend, the tick.

When is the right time to visit the Carpathians?

The weather in the Carpathians can be a mystery sometimes. Although these are medium-altitude mountains, (highest point: 2544 meters, The Moldoveanu Peak), don’t underestimate them.

The best time to hike up the 1600m+ peaks is May-November, because during the rest of the year, there is almost always considerable avalanche risk.

But even during this period, you should nonetheless be prepared for all types of weather. It has  happened many times for me to start out in ~30 degrees Celsius weather (at ~800 meters elevation), only to face rain, cold, strong wind, and annoying fog just two hours later, at over 1500 meters altitude.

  1. Check the weather forecast. ANM is the National Weather Authority in Romania and it’s very easy to check their weather warnings here. Another good information source is mountain-forecast.com
  2. Plan your route considering the weather conditions. Is it going to rain at lunchtime, but your hike to the cabin is 3 hours long? Leave earlier in the morning. Or don’t leave at all.

Extra tip: the yellow code in the mountains is not a good thing.

Tips:

  1. Never forget your waterproof equipment: rain jacket (min. 10.000 mm, summer rains are strong)/poncho; rain-proof trousers, and a backpack rain cover. Bring extra socks and T-Shirts with you.
  2. GLOVES! ‌The rain or wind can freeze your hands even in August. I strongly recommend taking a pair of gloves along.
  3. Sometimes it gets so cold that your phone battery dies. Another reason why you need a power bank and a paper map.
  4. Bring sun protection:‌ glasses; sunscreen (min. 50 SPF); a hat or a buff.

What animals are here? How should you behave?

Dogs that are not friendly, bears that are shy, vipers that are introverts and ticks. Annoying ticks.

Herding dogs

The herding dogs found in the Carpathians are huge, beautiful, hungry almost all the time and never friendly (maybe they are hangry). If during your hike you see a group of sheep close-by (in a fold or not), it’s almost certain that there will be dogs with them as well.

These dogs don’t like strangers at all. They don’t want to attack you, they just want to protect their herd, so you need to make them understand that you’re not a threat.

How do you show them that you’re not there to kill sheep? insert continuous barking while reading the following steps

  1. Don’t panic. Don’t start running. Instead, start shouting and calling out to the Shepherd. He might be the peace-maker. Usually, the shepherds will hear you and will call their dogs back.
  2. If the Shepherd doesn’t hear you or if he does not help you (it can happen sometimes), take some biscuits (or any food) in your hand. Try to follow your path calmly.
  3. If the dogs are coming to you, don’t panic and stop moving. Get closer to your hiking buddies and prepare yourself for a weird meeting. The dogs will usually group in front of you and they will bark at you.
  4. Use your secret weapons: your voice and biscuits (or any food). Channel your inner public speaker and talk to the dogs in a gentle way. Share your biscuits generously. Please, don’t try to pet the dogs. I know they are beautiful, but no, don’t do it.
  5. While they are eating, start walking away (calmly!), face oriented towards the dogs (if they attack, they will do it only from behind, so protect your back).
  6. Drop some more biscuits to the ground every now and then. They will finish eating their food (Gosh, they eat so fast!) and will want to check up on you. But you don’t want this, so you can avoid another face-to-face discussion with them by giving them some more food breaks.

Don’t worry though, these situations don’t occur too often, but they are more frequent and more likely to happen than running into a bear.

Don’t forget, if things go wrong, either call the Mountain Rescue team (called Salvamont in Romanian), and they will always guide you: +40 0Salvamont (0725826668), or the National Emergency Number, 112.

Bears

Don’t worry, compared to herding dogs, they are rather shy. That’s why you need to make the first move. To avoid a meeting, that is.

Romania has the largest number of brown bears in Europe. This means that no matter where you go in the Carpathians, it’s very likely that a bear was wandering about there at some point.

The number of bear encounters during hikes is small (compared to those with herding dogs). You should keep in mind a few things to avoid bumping into a bear:

  1. Whenever walking or hiking through a forest, make loud noises. Talk loudly, sing, hit the rocks with your trekking poles, shout from time to time (but not as you would when calling for help), or blow a whistle. You can also make use of your Bluetooth speakers, if you have one, but you might disturb other hikers on the trails.
  2. You will often find bear tracks on your path. If the ground is wet and you can still see the tracks clearly, you may need to follow the instructions above more often, over a short period of time.
  3. When camping, don’t keep food in your tent. Instead, put the food up in a tree, preferably 2-300 meters away from the camping area. Same goes for empty food and drink packaging. Alternatively, you can bury it in the ground – but don’t forget to take it with you when you leave.

Snakes

Don’t worry, we only have one dangerous snake species, the Viper. Vipers love sunshine and warm rocks, so be careful when taking a break. Who likes being disturbed while getting a tan, after all?  Certainly not the Vipers.

If you see a snake, don’t move. Snakes are usually introverts and they will leave. If you come upon a lazy snake and it doesn’t want to go away, try to avoid the area where it’s hanging out and continue your path.

That being said, sometimes you can’t see the snake, which means you can still get bitten (they love hiding in the grass or simply lie on the ground).

Vipers usually bite in response to your actions. Your most exposed areas are the lower parts of your legs. This is one of multiple reasons why you need to wear high cut hiking boots. Another way to protect yourself from snake bites is by wearing long hiking socks (preferably Merino wool ones).

If you get bitten by a Viper:

  1. The first rule is to try to calm down. Stop screaming, don’t run, don’t do anything that can increase your blood flow. Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol.
  2. Lie down, while keeping the bitten area below heart level, refrain from moving, and call the National Emergency Number, 112, and try to guide them to your location. Listen to their advice.

!! DO NOT try to suck out the venom from the bitten area. Instead, you can try to clean it with water or alcohol.

  1. If you get the chills, try to keep yourself warm with extra clothes or an emergency survival blanket.
  2. Apply a gauze bandage roll on the area (NOT like a tourniquet!) and wait for the rescue team. Fingers crossed.

Ticks

Out of all the creatures on this list, these are the most common, aggressive and annoying. Even dangerous.

You can’t know where they are hiding. Ticks live in the grass or they rest on a tree – then they see you, and they begin the landing procedure on you.

  1. Try to avoid walking away from the marked path, especially in areas with tall grass or bushes. Also, wear insect repellant (Peppermint Oil is the most common one).
  2. Don’t wear shorts. I know, it’s hot in the summer but do yourself a favour and wear pants.
  3. Make sure to have a tick extractor or tweezers in your Safety Kit. They might be useful.

In case you spot a tick on you, try to keep calm and start the extraction procedure as follows:

Place the tick extractor or the tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Grip the tick. Pull upwards. Don’t twist and don’t apply too much pressure (your goal here is to extract the tick). After removing it, clean the area with alcohol or soap + water. Apply a band-aid.

Monitor yourself and if you start running a fever or if you develop any other symptoms, see a doctor ASAP. Tell him all about your annoying friend, the tick.