· 6 minute read
Things to do in Maramureș, starting from Borșa
Borșa makes a good base: the mountains are right above, and the Vișeu and Iza valleys run down to the villages with wooden churches. We've listed the places by distance from the guesthouse, with driving times.
The Horses' Waterfall, 14 km
Drive to the Borșa ski resort, then take the chairlift and walk for half an hour. The water drops from around 90 metres. It's all in our Horses' Waterfall guide.
Pietrosu peak, from Borșa town centre
Pietrosul Rodnei is 2,303 metres high, the highest peak in the Eastern Carpathians. You see it from the guesthouse balcony every morning. The trail starts in the centre of Borșa, crosses the Vișeu river and climbs the Pietroasa valley, then the Piciorul Moșului ridge. The Munții Noștri trail atlas lists it with a blue stripe marking, 14.6 kilometres and between 6 and 8 hours of walking to just below the summit. It's a full day, for fit hikers.
Below the ridge lies the glacial cirque of Iezer, with a weather station at about 1,760 metres and Lake Iezer at 1,825 metres. The Pietrosul Mare reserve has been part of the world network of biosphere reserves since 1979. In winter, climbing through the Iezer cirque is not recommended. Check the weather and the trail markings before you go.
The Mocănița steam train, Vișeu de Sus, 20 km
The steam train leaves from the CFF forest railway station in Vișeu de Sus, which is separate from the town's main CFR station, and climbs the Vaser Valley to Paltin, about 21 kilometres. One way takes 2-3 hours, with stops for water and firewood. You get about an hour and a half at Paltin, and the whole trip takes around 6 hours.
- in summer, seats go quickly: book your tickets ahead
- get to the station at least 30 minutes early; the train doesn't wait
- there's no phone signal and no shop in the valley, so bring water and food
- timetables and prices change from year to year: check mocanita.ro
The Prislop Pass, 27 km
The DN18 climbs out of Borșa to 1,416 metres at the Prislop Pass, then drops towards Bucovina. With a free day, you can cross the mountains and carry on to Vatra Dornei, 92 kilometres from the guesthouse.
Bârsana Monastery, 54 km
About an hour and a quarter by car, in the Iza valley. Bârsana's wooden church is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It stands on Jbâr hill; sources give different years for when it was built, 1711 or 1720. Bârsana also has the monastery, re-founded in the 1990s, a group of tall wooden buildings.
Sighetu Marmației, 76 km
The town on the Ukrainian border, under two hours from Borșa. It has the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance, in the former prison, and the Maramureș Village Museum. It pairs well with Săpânța on the same day.
The Merry Cemetery, Săpânța, 95 km
About two hours and ten minutes by car. The wooden crosses are painted blue, with scenes and verses about the lives of the people buried there. Săpânța is also home to Săpânța-Peri Monastery, with a wooden church over 70 metres tall, presented as the tallest in Europe.