Hiking around Borlova and Muntele Mic
Romania | Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 9 photos
Emma got a bonus long weekend from school for the Unification of Romania day so we put our thinking caps on to see where we could get to on the limited transport options from Timisoara. We came up with going to a small village called Borlova and doing some hiking around there and up to the ski resort of Muntele Mic, weather permitting of course. We got an early train to Caransebes and, amazingly, the sun was shining as we disembarked. Borlova is 16 km from Carensebes and of course no buses on a Saturday or Sunday so we set off walking - well that was the point of the weekend anyhow. We had a quick look round Carensebes, which seemed a nice enough town but no reason to linger before hitting the round towards Carensebes. As we were heading towards a ski resort I thought we would be climbing but the road was pretty flat and the surrounding scenery was pleasant rolling hills. Not an ideal walk as there was some traffic, a random stranger stopped to offer a lift and then a parent from Emma's school saw us and offered a cheat option, but we decided to carry on. After 3 an a half hours we arrived in the small rural village of Borlova. There is not much there but it was a nice escape from the city. Our guesthouse was fantastic with a nice terrace overlooking the garden and we were alle to rest our legs sitting in the wintery sun. The next morning we set off early to hike up the mountain to Muntele Mic ski resort. It was a lovely walk through the forest but we missed the turning onto the ridge and had an unnecessary detour of 45 mins! We back tracked and headed up the ridge and the track was pretty steep as we climbed about a 1,000m in altitude. We eventually hit the snow line and then soon after the tree line . Now we could see our destination and wonderful view back down the valley. We tromped into the ski resort and found a rather shabby place with many of the hotels half built or falling down. There wasn't enough snow for skiing but there were quite a few families who had brought the kids sledging. We found a restaurant that was open and had a delicious bowl of pork and bean soup. Just what we needed as it was freezing. We didn't fancy the walk back down so we managed to hitch back, a kind family from Timisoara taking pity on us. The twisting twining round is a lot further in distance than the walk up but we were grateful for the lift. We celebrated with a couple of beers and the football back at the guesthouse before heading back the next day. The owner of the guesthouse insisted on driving us to the station. Romania people really are very kind.
