Here I am, sitting in the middle of a beautiful garden in our guesthouse from Hateg county right near a mountain river. Once again I have the opportunity to experience Transylvanian life and to see one of the most impressive Romanian ancient ruins! Oh, I am so excited!
Mmmm…You know what I like at Transylvania? I like the people, because they are very welcoming and friendly! I like nature, because it is untamed! I like that there are so many things to see in this part of Romania and each time I travel here I discover new things! I also like this place because it is full of history: ancient ruins, medieval castles and fortified churches are just some of the things to see when visit Transylvania!
We booked a three days escape in nature in the middle of one of the most beautiful and impressive landscapes of Romania. We arrived in Hateg without a planned itinerary. We decided to organize our trip on the spot.
A trip to Hateg County: Romanian ancient ruins, Transylvanian life and beautiful nature!
We dedicated our first day to nature and history. We found an Info point so we stopped by to find out which are the best things to do in the area. After a short conversation with the lady from the Info point we decided to head up to Lolaia Waterfall. The waterfall is very beautiful and easy to reach. From Hateg city there are about 20 km to this waterfall. We let our car in the parking spot at the end of the road and we started to walk through the forest. The landscape is incredible! It is so quiet! All you hear are the birds singing! And what nice songs do they sing! After 20 minutes walk we reached the waterfall. We descended some steps and here it was: a beautiful and wild waterfall appeared in front of our eyes! The sound of the water hitting the stones was very strong! The birds’ songs had stopped and a strong water noise replaced the serene songs! It was so calming and relaxing! We didn’t want to leave anymore! We stood there a while to recharge our batteries!
On our way to Lolaia Waterfall we saw many sights on the road pointing other interesting places to see in the area like Romanian ancient ruins (Sarmisegetuza ancient city) or medieval fortresses. Malaiesti, Sarmizegetusa are just a few of them.
We heard that Malaiesti is a very nice restored fortress so we decided to visit it. And we did not regret this! It is a place in Hateg County very close to the main road and very easy to find. On top of that, from the parking place to the fortress there are just 3 minutes walk. The fortress is located right near a village! A village where life follows the specific rules of the Transylvanian life: simple but beautiful!
After visiting the fortress we came back to the main road and followed the signs to Sarmizegetusa Regia ruins, our last destination from that day.
The road to this magnificent place is good and pretty well maintained. We hardly managed to find a parking place right at the bottom of the hill because it was very crowded. From down there, we started our ascending up to the ruins. Reaching the top of the hill we discovered the archaeological site: very well arranged and guarded by a private security company. Few years ago, these Romanian ancient ruins were the centerpiece in all kinds of unorthodox rituals. Now the place is reconstructed and you get a really good flavor of what was there in the past. There are few clues and proves about how the buildings looked like or about the exact purpose of the buildings. It is known that there were some temples, but it is not known for which Gods were built. The only thing known for sure is that the place had a very important role in the spiritual life of the community.
I consider this place from Hateg County wrapped in mystery, with a great spiritual charge. Because there are few clues about the buildings, I was somehow free to let my imagination fly away based on the reconstructions found there. It is a very interesting experience to visit this place! Visiting this place is equivalent with traveling back in time!
We had a full and pretty tiring day but worth all the effort! The place is very beautiful and it has a lot of things to see while visit Romania.
We left behind the villages and head up to our accommodation. Cozy houses with traditional architecture are built on both parts of the road. Transylvanian life goes on day by day! No matter if it rains or if it is sunny, villagers always have something to do around their house or on the fields. I was very impressed of villagers’ life and traditions. The way they see life and their feelings and acts about traditions is amazing. They appreciate life and what Earth gave them in a unique way, completely different then we do. I am really impressed about that part of Romania and I recommend you to visit Hateg County if you have the opportunity. Nature, traditions and Romanian ancient ruins are waiting to be discovered!