Dambovicioara

Central Romania's tourist resort with a breathtaking scenery

Daniel Onea, 15.02.2024, 14:00

We’re heading today towards the center of Romania. Our
stopover is a tourist resort of national interest, the commune of Dâmbovicioara.
The area is recommended to all categories of tourists, for relaxation, but also
for active tourism. Climbing, mountain cycling and agritourism can be practiced
there. Also, in the region you can watch genuine pageantries of traditional apparel,
or you can take part in festivals that promote the local cuisine.

It is a
place replete with traditions, it is a destination for the entire family. With details
on that, here is an official of the National Tourism Information
and Promotion Center, Raluca Busioc.

Dâmbovicioara
is a wonderful commune, with breathtaking scenery and I’m not the only one
saying it, as here it feels like home to me and there are also many other people
saying it, those who arrive here. Geographically speaking, Dâmbovicioara is
part of Wallachia, it is a commune in Arges county, lying on the border with Brasov
County, in Transylvania. The mountain ranges surrounding our commune are part
of the Southern Carpathians, namely Piatra Craiului, Iezer-Păpușa and Leaota. So,
the invitation we ‘re extending is for you to see spectacular landscapes existing
in those mountain trails. The trekking routes are very many, and extremely varied.
Also, you can practice bouldering in the Brusturet Gorges, a segment of the gorges
which is part of a complex of eighteen gorges in our area. Apart from tis
adventure tourism, relaxation is, by all means, welcome in our area because it
is a very quiet area, it is not crowded at all. In recent years, jointly with
the people in the community we have succeeded to lay our emphasis on experience
tourism. We have been trying to promote, and we’ve succeeded, together with
groups of tourists, to stage all sort of activities related to the life here,
to life in the countryside.

Experience-based tourism is an innovative
approach to travelling, for which center-stage is being able to experience and
understand culture, places and people, instead of only visiting traditional
tourist objectives. This kind of tourism provides
a deeper perspective on the destination. In Dâmbovicioara, you’re sure to
experience the local culture and the local way of living, which, definitely,
means unforgettable memories, says the official
of the National Tourism Information and Promotion Center, Raluca Busioc.

We experienced stitching on etamine, wood
sculpture, tourists can see for themselves how to sew the ie, the traditional blouse
specific for our area. Even the cooking workshops based on the recipes in our
region have worked very well, while people have begun to be strongly attracted
by everything related to experience tourism. Apart from the scenery or the leisure
of the guesthouses, people want to have their own memories of their stay here. Usually,
such activities target groups of at least ten people. So far, we have worked
with tourism agencies that had the role of organizing that group. I have been approached
and, jointly with the people here, in the community, with other partners, I have
created tourism programs for those people. So a connection between tourists, the
community and these activities in the community can be the Dambovicioara
Tourism Center. The Center’s Facebook page can be accessed at Turism Dambovicioara
and there it is the fastest way to contact me, but you can also contact me by phone,
that’s for sure.

You will also find a little museum with the Turism Promotion
and Information Center.

It is a room that has been arranged
according to tradition. I thought, together with my colleagues and with the
other people I have been working with, that it could act as an introduction to tradition.
There is, in the region, a museum which is a lot more complex than tis room in
the tourism center, yet the role this room had was, in fact, a meeting point
for the women in the community. Later, tourists also came, they wanted to see
for themselves how this demo of sewing and weaving work, actually, as we also
have a weaving loom here, at the tourism center. So, the main role was to give
an impetus of village women’s evening sittings that have of course got a new
shape, yet what we had in mind were the village evening sitting of the old
days.

The Dâmbovicioara river cut down, into the rock, an eight-kilometer-long
canyon, while in some of the segments the walls of the valley are more than 200
meter high. There are more than 50 caves in the region. However, Raluca Busioc
of the National Tourism Information and Promotion Center recommends that we
visit the Dâmbovicioara Cave, which offers a varied karstic relief. It was
discovered in 1579 and has electric lighting since 1980. Right at the entrance,
you will find a restaurant with a traditional menu. Access can be made through a
floodlit walkway, made of metal, on which tourists can walk the 250 meters that
are available for visiting.

Coming here, every year,
are tens of thousands of tourists who are simply impressed by the legend of
this cave. Briefly, it is about two outlaws, Fulga and
Budac. The two outlaws stole the fortunes from the rich and gave them to the poor.
So the legend is very interesting for those who come over. However, the most important tourist assets with us
remain the tourist trekking routes, especially in Piatra Craiului, since it is
one of the most spectacular mountains.

If you intend to plan a holiday in Dambovicioara in 2024,
it is advisable that you get there when a local event is held. Palm Sunday, The
Assumption of Saint Mary, but also December 1st, the National Day of
Romania, are an opportunity for a great feast or holiday. Also, another local event
that has been very successful in recent years, an event which began in 2016, is
the Day of the Peasant Embroidered Blouse, the ie in Romanian, staged on June
24.

It is a very interesting day,
as the guests make contact with the people of the community, and it is also a
merry-making opportunity. We have succeeded, together with the people in the region,
to remind tourists of the simplicity of the days of yore, to better present the
traditions that are specific to the region. By and large, the key element in
all these activities has been the contact tourists had with the people in the
region. We are here with our arms wide open for you, in a bid to show you the
beauty of the region, to speak about us, to tell our story to the best of our
abilities and, of course, to make you enjoy quiet and relaxing stay.

So here we have a destination for all nature lovers, a
destination where you can see unique assets, where you get to know special people and where you can charge your batteries for the whole year.