Via TransilvanicaBefore you set off
When to go, what it costs, what to take and what to do if you meet a bear.
When to go, what it costs, what to take and what to do if you meet a bear.
The trail runs over 1,400 kilometres and is walked, cycled or ridden. You can do all of it, or a single stage. Below is what matters before you set off, boiled down to the essentials.
The good window is mai–octombrie, with cool mornings and evenings. Winter is out: snow makes the going hard and the lodgings are shut. Mountain weather turns fast, so leave early and walk by day — evening raises every risk, from wildlife to losing your way.
Set off in twos or more. The trail is young and some stretches are still wild.
Un orange T in a circle, on a white background. The orange arrow points towards Drobeta, the white one towards Putna. Every kilometre there stands an andesite milestone, carved by art students, telling you which kilometre you are on and that you are on the right path. Junctions and pedestrian crossings have their own signs.
A 35–55 litre pack. The list below is the official recommendation, grouped by category.
Trekking boots, light shoes for the evening, flip-flops for the shower, quick-drying socks, mountain trousers, shorts, leggings, technical tees, a fleece or down jacket, a rain shell and a rain cover for the pack.
A plastic water bottle, head torch and batteries, power bank and charger, a pocket knife, matches, and trekking poles if you use them.
Dressings and plasters, blister plasters, magnesium or anti-cramp tablets, antihistamines, painkillers, foot cream, disinfectant and your own medication. Plus insect spray, sunglasses and high-factor sun cream.
A plastic bag to keep clothes dry, a pouch for the dirty ones, a sports towel, earplugs if you share a room, two or three metres of washing line, needle and thread, safety pins.
ID card or passport, health card, and an emergency contact written on paper.
A wet foot blisters faster than a dry one, so cold streams feel lovely but cost you. At the first hint of rubbing, lay a few strips of tape over the sore spot to stop the friction.
If a blister has formed, only drain it if it gets in the way of walking: a disinfected needle, two holes so all the fluid runs out. Never peel the skin off. Cover it with plasters and keep the wound clean.
Fill the bottle at every marked spring. Better too much water than too little, especially in the August heat. On some stretches there are few villages and so few sources: work it out from the stage description.
Take magnesium in the morning, before you start, every day: it keeps cramps and tendon trouble away. For long stages, pack a light snack — a bar, fruit, bread.
Farmyard dogs bark from behind the fence and are no trouble as long as you stay out of the yard. Sheepdogs are another matter: they are defending ground.
Give the sheepfold a wide berth where you can. Talk to them kindly, it usually settles them. If that fails, call for the shepherd: “Ține la oi!” — call off the dogs sau “Cheamă-ți câinii!” — call your dogs. If you walk with your own dog, keep it on a lead close to you. Spray, firecrackers or sticks are suggested, but the team that waymarked the trail never used any of them. Fear is the worst enemy: the dog smells it.
People are not on its menu, and a bear does not attack as a predator: it attacks out of fear, or to defend its cubs. The prevention that works nineteen times out of twenty is simple: talk and make noise as you walk. A bear leaves of its own accord once it senses you.
Walk in a group, avoid dense forest edges, keep away from hunting hides and animal carcasses. Leave no food behind, at a rest stop or at camp: scraps draw wildlife, and a bear learns to associate food with people.
Keep about thirty metres and back away when it signals: ears flat, huffing, teeth grinding.
It is curious, not aggressive: it stands up to see better, exactly as a person would. Speak to it softly and move slowly. It hears far better than it sees.
Always go around them, even if they look alone. A she-bear never leaves her cubs, and if she sees you close, she will attack.
Romania has some of the fastest internet in the world, which helps not at all where there is no signal. On sheltered stretches you may have neither phone nor GPS: if you need them, climb to higher ground. Some guesthouses have Wi-Fi; ask your host.
Buy medicines in the towns: village pharmacies keep short hours and stock little. Village shops open for a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon.
The information comes from the September 2026 edition of the official guide, published by the Tășuleasa Social association, which waymarked and maintains the trail.
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