Snow festivals in Romania
Many snow festivals are held at this time of the year in Romanias most popular ski resorts.
Daniel Onea, 12.02.2015, 13:22
Our trip starts in Maramures, northern Romania and the resort of Borsa, a perfect holiday spot in winter. Tourists will find here a whole range of hotels, boarding houses, restaurants and tourist information centres to help visitors find the most interesting places to see. At this time of the year, however, skiing is the biggest attraction. In Borsa, preparations are being made for the weekend, when the resort plays host to a special event. We found out more about this from Anca Aurelia Sava, the head of the Culture Service with the Borsa Town Hall:
“This weekend Borsa is hosting the 12th Snow Festival organised by the Borsa Town Hall. The Festival will take place near the ski run, and will include a variety of events, including pop and traditional music, special guests, an outdoor dance rink and ski competitions for children and adults. At night, skiers will also go down the slopes carrying lit torches, and there will be fireworks as well. The employees and volunteers with the mountain rescue service, with which we work every year for the Snow Festival, ski down to the base of the ski run with lit torches. This year there will be around 80 people doing that. A chair lift will take skiers up the 2 km long run and there they can take another ski lift up another piste, which is 900 m long.”
The town of Borsa is located between two nature parks: the Rodnei Mountains National Park and the Maramures Mountains Nature Park, Anca Aurelia Sava also told us. The Pietrosul Rodnei nature reserve is right near the town. The 2,303 m Pietrosul Rodnei peak is the highest in the Eastern Carpathians, and in 1979 the entire area was declared a biosphere reserve, protected by UNESCO:
“The landscape is outstanding, and there are plenty of tourist sites. Maramures is known as the country of wood. We have many wooden churches, and a lot of tourists appreciate traditional architecture. During the winter, most of the people come here for winter sports, while in the summer they enjoy hiking. We have glacial lakes and a waterfall called the Horses Waterfall, which is 90 m high. Another interesting site is the Museum of Roots. A forest ranger collected, over the years, various tree roots. He gave each one a name and is now displaying them in a small cottage, alongside war items that he has found in these forests over the years.”
Visits to the Museum of Roots are free of charge. Tourists from around the world come to see its founder, the 69-year old Stefan Grec. Apart from hundreds of roots and military items, he also collected old banknotes, gemstones, as well as tens of Easter painted eggs from Maramures and Bukovina.
Another popular resort in winter is Vatra Dornei, lying only 89 km from Borsa, in Bukovina. Vatra Dornei plays host to a snow festival held this weekend and the next. Petru Ariciuc, the head of the mountain rescue service, tells us more:
”This year, the Snow Festival is held over two weekends. This season, the resort has been very busy, also because the weather has been very good. Vatra Dornei has three ski trails for intermediate skiers. The 3,000 m long Dealu Negru ski slope can be accessed by chairlift, the Parc Slope is 1,500 meters long and is serviced by two ski lifts, including one for children, while the brand new Veverita slope is 800 meters long and is fitted with a ski lift, floodlighting and snow cannons. We are holding the snow festival so late into the season in order to prolong the season and attract as many tourists as possible to the resort. Music shows will be staged over the two weekends, featuring ethno, pop rock and traditional music bands. We’re trying to cater for all taste. Friday is dedicated to pop and rock music, while Saturday will mostly feature traditional music. We have held ski competitions on the Veverita slope almost every weekend recently, getting both adults and children involved. Last week, for example, we had 102 participants aged between 5 and 70.”
People who don’t have their own skiing equipment can rent it from one of the many sport equipment rental centres located at the foot of the ski slope. Fees range from 8-10 lei per hour to 40 lei per day. Skiing lessons cost between 65 and 80 lei per hour. Apart from skiing, Vatra Dornei provides other types of activities as well. Petru Ariciuc explains”
”We have three treatment facilities in Vatra Dornei. There’s also a four-star spa centre in one of the new hotels and tourists can come here to relax after skiing. Horseback riding is also available as an alternative to skiing. Tourists don’t have to venture into the difficult alpine terrain on horseback, but can have a relaxing ride around the resort. Horse-drawn sleigh rides in the area of the Calimani national park are also an option.”
In February, many mountain resorts also host night-time parties on the ski slope, an attraction for young crowds in particular.
