Trail ride in Carpathian Mountains
Endless fields and mountains, beautiful pine forests, majestic rocks, csanglo and sekler culture, interesting people. Something more, something personal, moments, feelings and flavours, a real slice of Transylvania.
You can feel the magic in the scenery, the kindness in the hosts, the selflessness, the confidence and the speed of our horses. We, the seklers and csangos will share everything you need to know about this region.
The horseback riding tour starts from a place named Covacipeter ranch (1200m), in the heart of the mountains. This ranch can be found next to the Big Hasmas National park, it is 10 km distance from Gherorgheni City.
During the first part of this tour we will ride through the Gherorgheni Mountains, Ciuc Mountains, and vast meadows. At this part of our tour we will wander in great forests and glance in the distance from magnificent peeks.
The second part of our tours we will ride in Ghimes Mountains, what looks like small Mongolia, and in the beautiful Hasmas National Park.
Duration: 7days / 6 nights / 5 riding days.
Trail-ride aprox. 170 km
Daily rides with a duration of 5-6 hours.
Accommodation in guest houses double- or multibed room
Group number: maximum 6 riders.
1st day
On the first day you can arrive to Gheorgheni in the afternoon or evening, (or airport transfer) from there we transfer you to the horseback riding ranch in Covacipeter, nearby Hasmas National Parc.
2nd day:
After a hearty breakfast, we will go on a short ride to discover the area around our ranch. This will allow you to get to know your horse and the equipment. We will be riding through small mountain streams and pass through vast meadows in order to reach the summit of Mount “Likas” Here we will enjoy our lunch picnic, and then ride back to Covacipeter.
Duration of the ride approx. 5 hours.
3rd day:
After leaving our ranch, we arrive to the Olt River spring, where we will water our horses. From here with a long steep rise, short canters we arrive to firs peak Sipos Mountain (1568m). from here we will have sight towards the North Hargita. We will descend to the Lok ridge and on a long wild path in the forest, we will arrive to Muntele Negru Mountains with an altitude of 1538 m, here is the spring of Mures River.
We ride down to the hills, where we will find our accommodation place for this night, in a cozy log house.
Duration of the ride approx. 5.5 hours.
4th day:
Today we will have a mixture between culture sights and nature beauty. We will ride between hills and vast meadows with more possibilities to enjoy some short and fast gallops.
Our first stop will be near by a historical church ruins, “Csonka” tower. We can meet today local peoples, we can see small local villages.
The accommodation will be in a guesthouse with hot tube.
Duration of the ride approx. 5.5 hours
5th day:
Today we will ride around the Ghimes Mountains, what looks like small Mongolia.
The highest point today will be in Naskalat Mountains 1550m. In this mountains we
can see traditional shepherds. We will be able to see small chalets in the hillside, what the csango people use in summertime, to live in while they prepare the hay.
The accommodation will be in a small csango village, Trei Fantani, in a cozy guest house at a nice Csango family.
Duration of the ride approx. 5.5 hours
6th day:
We say goodbye from the friendly csango family and ride to the Hasmas Mountains direction. We will have an amazing and panoramic riding day in Hasmas national park. After we climb up from the valley, our first stop will be at the famous Lonely Stone. Here we will have a break, you will have the possibilities to climb up to the top (1504m). After that we will continue the riding to an other famous peak, the Big Hasmas (1798m), with a fantastic view of the mountains all around. A few hours ride, and we arrive back to our ranch in Covacipeter.
Duration of the ride approx. 6 hours
7th day:
After breakfast we will transfer you to Gheorgheni or airport.
We offer local food. Copious breakfast and three course dinner: soup, second course and dessert. Picnic for lunch.
We also prepare vegetarian meals if needed and pay attention to allergies if you notify us in advance.
What you need to bring with you: layered, warm clothes, hiking boots, raincoat, rain pants, helmet, chaps, headlight, flask for water, pocket knife, sun cream, swimsuit.
Travel insurance is recommended!
Horses and equipment
Strong and friendly tour horses. Most of them started out as workhorses so now that they are only used for riding it is much easier on them. We also have horses that were raised as tour horses so they are very reliable when it comes to climbing up the hills. The horses are free range so they are calm and balanced.
The horses range in age from 3 to 15 years.
Their height ranges from 145 cm to 170 cm.
Equipment: western, military and sport saddles.
Price: 700€/person.
Price includes: horse, equipment, tour lead, accommodation, two hot meals and a picnic per day, welcome drinks, free and safe parking spaces.
Dates:
2-8 June 2024
7-13 July 2024
27 July - 2 August 2024
24 - 30 August 2024
15 - 21 September