Today we will travel to one of the most beautiful regions in the country, the Apuseni Mounatins, the western part of the Carpathian Mountains and go on a thrilling quest for gold. We will depart from Cluj in the morning and drive towards the Western part of the Carpathian Mountains. These are some of the wildest and most spectacular mountains in Romania and have attracted the interest of all neighbor populations, since the age of the Roman Empire until modern times. The main reason for that are the huge gold and silver reserves that are hidden here. The first one to discover it were the Romans, who came in the second century AC to conquer this region. Legend has it that using the gold they took from here, they were able to finance the the column of Trajan in Rome. In Roşia Montană hundreds of kilometers of Roman galleries have survived until today and one can still visit some of them today. In the center of the city we will see the reformed and orthodox churches, some of the miner’s houses and the former headquarters of the mining company.

The mining activity has continued throughout the centuries, until it was shut down because of environmental issues at the end of the 20th century. There is a big controversy nowadays about the reopening of the mines and resuming the mining activity which would create new places of work for the local community but also could have a huge negative environmental impact. Over the few past years there have been a lot of debates regarding this situation. We invite you to talk to the locals and find out more about this program and also to take a hike to the mountains surrounding the small city and enjoy a great panorama over the whole area. At lunch we will get the chance to enjoy local products and homemade dishes at one of Rosia Montana’s most famous activists.

Departing from Rosia Montana we will drive through Abrud and reach Brad. The city used to be one of the biggest mining centers in Europe. Here we will visit a very interesting museum dedicated to gold and its history in the region, reopened a couple of years ago, with exponents worth millions of euro. All of the gold shown here was mined in the area.

In the evening we will return to Cluj.

Price: 40 € /person

Price includes transportation in modern van, English speaking guide, lunch at locals including local drinks, all entrance fees.