Who has never dreamed about a ride with a horse-drawn sleigh in an enchanting land?
The Ghimes Valley is located in Harghita County, Romania and includes three localities: Lunca de Sus, Lunca de Jos and Ghimes Faget. Local people is very friendly, welcoming and warm, although they are at the Romanian Cold Pole.
The area has a peculiarity: the Hungarian population calls itself "Ghimes Ceangai" to differentiate them from those of Moldova. A characteristic of their lifestyle is that in spring they move up in the mountains with the animals and in the autumn they move back down to the village. Thus, their houses are spread over large areas.
The horse-drawn sleigh rides - in winter, or horse-drawn carriages - in spring and summer, are the main attraction of the area. The picturesque rides take place at the foot of the Ciuc Mountains in an enchanting land. The locals dedicate their time for hiking horse-drawn carriages.
This type of ride lasts about 3 hours, paused by a picnic break. Traditional products are served at the table: potato bread with rye, ham with onions and sheep cheese accompanied by the local brandy. The locals prepare a tasty goulash in a big cauldron adding the famous potatoes locally grown, and serve it with pickles and the same great Romanian brandy (of 40 dgrees).
The area is also known for its gas pits, specific to the volcanic soil, with sulfur emanations used for therapeutic purposes, the region being also called the Land of Volcanoes.
The park with wild animals from Ivo covers 320 ha and it is surrounded by mountains. Here, we can admire animals like the deer and the mouflon. We can reach this natural Park by following the route of Bucuresti-Brasov-Odorheiul Secuiesc with destination of Izvoarele region.
