One-Day Trips to Tara Fagarasului
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We recommend to all of those who want to make one-day trips to take the road heading to the Mountains of Fagaras that are worth being visited for their protected areas, national parks and reserves. On the way to the old Romanian region of Tara Fagarasului, the traveller passes in a row through the towns of Ghimbav, with its Fortified Church (1350), Codlea with its Evangelical Fortified Church (1342), and the road continues with Sercaia locality with its natural flower reserve "Poiana Narciselor" (the Daffodil Meadow) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Halmeag (1211); then you rapidly reach Fagaras town where you can visit the Fortress of Fagaras (1310), one of the most imposing fortresses from Transylvania. Just a stone`s throw from here lie the localities at the bottom of Fagaras mountains: Sambata, Lisa, Recea and Dragus.
Nature Lovers
Being so close to the mountains, this unique area is an attraction for nature lovers. Tourists have the opportunity to wander the forests taking short trips to the regions described above, as well as in the forests nearby localities of Mandra, Voila, Vistea or Ucea.
Rock climbers can go up onto the top of Fagaras Mountains by taking any of the four marked climbing routes. Yet, they should be careful because these routes are average to medium difficulty, some even dangerous during winter time. Appropriate equipment and good physical shape are required. Once on top, you will feel rewarded by landscapes of rare beauty.
Religious Tourism
Those who want to try religious tourism can fully satisfy this desire by going to Brancoveanu Monastery from Sambata de Sus, locality which was declared a historical monument itself. Attractions of this religious site include the Museum of Icons Painted on Glass, the Painting Workshop, a large library and the Oecumenical Centre Sambata Academy. Here, there are also Father Arsenie Boca`s Healing Spring and sanctum carved into the rock, situated on the eastern side of Muchea Dragusului. The "Healing Spring" fountain is the oldest construction item within the monastery`s enclosure and was attested in documents in 1500. Numerous pilgrims are attracted by this monastery, a place of inner peace and introspection.
The Painting School
The collection of old glass paintings (18th-19th centuries) made in a naïve folk manner in Brancoveanu style of painting, stir great interest among the tourists coming here.
Today, the glass painting workshop is a continuation of the activity of the Painting School founded by Brancoveanu in Sambata, which introduced the style called after his name in the mural paintings from the churches of this area and later on in the glass paintings from Tara Fagarasului.
