In order to know, as it is, discover the richness of its landscapes and its cultural heritage, to meet its inhabitants with their way of life and thinking, Romanian customs and traditions, there is one single possibility-a holiday in the countryside.

For the western traveler who comes from an over industrialized world where urbanization and civilization has put indelible seal on his life style, the encounter with the women who further spin like in the Middle Ages or weave carpets and rugs at the ancient loom, will be definitively amazing.

Several days spent in the Romanian rural environment give the traveler the opportunity to discover folk costumes and dancing, to take part in local feasts, to have a ride in the cart driven by oxen or horses.

The villages included in the network of rural tourism are starting points to the lofty peaks of the Carpathians, the Black Sea Coast and the Danube Delta.

Individually or in groups, the tourist can make trips in the neighborhood. What can be more pleasant than to listen to the murmur of mountain springs, bird’s songs, to wander along mountain path, and sleep at night in a room, which has the fragrance of wild flowers?

Romanians are famous for their hospitality. The host meets the tourist with bread and salt, plum brandy (“tzuica”) or a glass of wine from renowned vineyards. Rolled cabbage leaves filled with meat and skinless sausages (mititei) are specific dishes in the countryside. Corn porridge with cheese and cream hold pride of place in any guesthouse. Smoked cheese in fir tree bark is a Romanian specialty.

In many village households, the loom is still used. Along the centuries, handicrafts have been traditionally handed down from parents to children, ranging from woodcutting, sewing, etching eggs, weaving vegetal fibres.

Pottery, an age-long crafts, has preserved its techniques, shapes and decorations to this day. Genuine works of art are made in wood. Musical instruments are some of them...Romanian carpets are distinguished through a perfect execution, the range of colors and decoration motifs. Folk costumes are typical of the stylistic variety of each region. Folk customs occasioned by Christmas and the New Year are represented by carols, dancing with masks.

The most important rural zone are Bran-Moeciu, as there are various offers: one can choose between large or small boarding houses, with modern or traditional facilities and located near the road or to the top of the mountain. The region Rucar-Bran is guarded by tow mountain chains, and boasts many natural preserves and plants and animals protected by law, such as the lion’s foot and the pink Carthusian of Piatra Craiului and the chamoises. At the same time, Bucovina and Maramures are already traditional destinations for foreign tourists. In the villages of these parts of our country, of an overwhelming picturesqueness in all four seasons, there are high standard boarding houses and most interesting entertainment programs.

The regions of Sibiu, with their camps where children can study the painting of icons on glass, and Vrancea, a famous wine-growing district, with its gifted artisans in wood carving, have become more and more popular as tourist destinations.