Via Transilvanica Walk

Explore the medieval city, visiting the Great Square, Huet Square, the beautiful Passage of Steps which connects the upper town to the lower town, and the Bridge of Lies.

A transfer (1hr15mins) takes you to Richis where you will start your journey along the Via Transilvanica. Head out of the village and along a track to come to the first of many milestones you’ll encounter. Follow a ridge line through the woods and to a viewpoint looking over Biertan before descending to the UNESCO listed town.

Your walk today takes you first to Copsa Mare and the Biserica Fortificata, built originally in the gothic style but fortified in the 16th Century to fit the defensive requirements of the time. Next stop is Nou Sasec before reaching Malancrav, a remote village, once the property of the Apafi family. Many of the farmhouses here have been restored by the Mihai Eminescu Trust which was formally under the patronage of King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales.

Today starts with a transfer, choose to be taken to Cris, or a little further along the trail to Stejarenii to walk across meadows and through the Breite Nature Reserve with oak trees that are 400-600 years old before arriving in the colourful, fortified medieval town of Sighisoara.

Today is a free day to explore the cobbled streets of Sighisoara, birthplace of Vlad Dracula, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. Visit the citadel, built in the 12th century and further strengthened and extended in the 15th century. You can climb to the top of the Clock Tower and admire beautiful views over the Old Town and surrounding countryside. The citadel is surrounded by the remains of the defensive wall, including towers built and maintained by the different craft guilds, such as the Bootmakers’ Tower, Blacksmith Tower and the Tailors’ Tower.

Your route today takes you out of Sighisoara across pastures and up to and along a woodland ridge. Your destination is the almost deserted village of Sapartoc, your stay here is in one of the village houses.

Leave Sapartoc to continue to follow the trail towards your destination today, Saschiz. Along the way you’ll pass through the village of Daia, the fortified church here is on the list of historical monuments, and despite its state of repair is still worth a visit. Continue to Saschiz, home to the locally produced blue pottery. You’ll find local artisans workshops here for some of the other crafts of the area.

Walk alongside and through meadows today, full of wildflowers and butterflies in the spring. You’ll reach the small settlement of Cloasterf, with a compact fortified church. Crit, as in many of the other villages you have passed through, still maintains its traditional rural life.

Your final walk takes you out of the Terra Saxonum section of the Via Transilvanica and into the Terra Borza Tuetonica section to Viscri. The fortified church here is one of the highlights of the many you will have seen, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.