Besides bears, Romania is also famous for its traditional sheepfolds, which can be found throughout the country. Recently, we went to Bucegi mountains, to visit one of them.
Leaving Brasov was quite easy, we avoided the morning traffic jams and left at around 9 am, heading South on DN1 towards Sinaia. Turning right towards Moroieni, we were immediately surrounded by forests and saw a few wild orchids at the side of the road.
Turning right again on the Transbucegi road, we noticed the change of landscape, from thick fir forests to alpine meadows scattered with sheepfolds. Although it’s less popular than the famous Transfagarasan road, the Transbucegi can offer pretty amazing views over Prahova Valley, Baiului mountains and, if you know where to go, a stunning 360 degree panoramic view.
After a steep climb, we reached Dichiu hut, an important junction. We descended to Bolboci reservoir, inaugurated in 1988.
We had a clue about where this sheepfold might be, so, with a little bit of help from technology (thanks Google Maps!), we arrived there. Getting familiar with the guard dogs was not going to be easy but we called the shepherd in advance to make sure we can go there safely. However, this was not the case, as the dogs were surprisingly friendly.
We met the shepherd, changed a few words, then went on an easy hike up to a stone quarry which was used to build the Bolboci dam. The view of the Bucegi plateau was amazing and we were very lucky with the weather. We have to be honest, after almost 3 weeks of rain, we weren’t too optimistic about the forecast. But the mighty mountains offered us patches of blue sky and the warming light of the Sun.
Returning back to the sheepfold was a piece of cake. We were hungry, so there’s our motivation!
And boy, the food looked great! The polenta was being made in a cauldron, over fire, the fresh cheese was there just waiting to be tasted and a small glass of țuica was everything we needed.
Without any further ado, we let the photos speak for themselves.
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