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County Prahova

Pop Prahova!

Prahova is the people's choice, by far the most popular county amongst Romanians for their summer AND winter fun!

Whether it is royal castles, great skiing or simply sumptuous views on the trail hiking to some very great heights, County Prahova is a treasure-trove of charming views and some world-class resorts too.

The County of Cultured Choice

Romanians themselves often forget how many of their national heroes chose the cosy foothills of Prahova to spend their latter years.  Their beautiful country houses happily preserved to this day for your enjoyment. 

Imbued with wisdom from their world travels and stunning careers, the shining lights of Romania chose Prahova for their country homes and lives in their golden years.  

The names march on, each attached to their own corner of the county, from top artists Grigorescu and Tonitza, to political lights Iorga and Hasdeu, and other cultural icons like Petrescu, Stănescu, Constantinescu, Bogza, and Bolliac amongst others.   See our sections on Câmpina, Breaza, Ploieşti and Vălenii de Munte below for the locations and opening hours of these great country homes, all with guides speaking English!

Driving By Ploieşti?

Most Romanians sort of skip by Ploieşti on their ways to the mountains, most using the highway bypass.   But for the tourist with some time, this capital city of County Prahova holds a few surprises.

A bit of well-timed nationalist fervour between the two world wars saw rebuilding (after the Germans had routed the town in the first world war), and new museums spring up across the country, including a great art museum in Ploieşti. 

Not mentioning oil in Ploieşti is like not mentioning oil in Houston, although for the tourist, other than the sort of interesting Oil Musuem, all things petroleum is not central to enjoying the town.

This page contains a Romanian Hero!
Click here to read about Grigorescu, a hero of Romanian art!Famous sons in the arts, composer Paul Constantinescu and poet Nichita Stănescu both have commemorative museums set up in their names worth a visit, as are the Oil Museum, the Clock Museum, Natural Sciences Museum, Aquarium, and a surprisingly excellent Art Museum, stuffed full of all the Grigorescu and Tonitza you could want, along with extensive 19th and 20th century collections.

But, if you're not the museum type, keep reading in our To Do section below!

Ploieşti Fun Activities, Oil Museum, Maps, Lodging, Agents, History

All Finished with the Ploieşti Museums?

Yes, well, once you are full of culture and education from the Aquarium, Oil and Gas Museum, and the nearby archeological site at Târgşor, maybe it's time to get out into the countryside!

Whilst Ploieşti actually is quite well placed strategically for frequent forays into the countryside, whether it's Târgovişte to the west, Sinaia and the Bucegi mountains to the north, or even the fascinating Ciucaş mountains to the north-east.

The Prahova River Valley

Almost 90% of the traffic between Ploieşti and Braşov runs up the verdant and dramatic Prahova River Valley

The main road, the Drum National 1 (DN1), bypasses Ploieşti and flows through the foothills through Câmpina and Breaza to the resort towns of Sinaia, Buşteni and Azuga along the stunning Bucegi Mountains.

On the Doftana River Valley

This protected little gem where nature meets lasting old Prahovan village cultures includes a great little lake, sleepy little guesthouses and a feel like you're in rural Vermont or the Lakes district.

The Telega Resort is a mini-spa facility about half way up the mountain valley just in the foothills, as you travel north-east from Câmpina.   The Beautiful Doftana River Valley and well-paved road windws it's way past village and a lake, culminating high in the Gârbova ranges of the Carpathian mountains.

The Teleajen River Valley

The other less touristy route to Transilvania (the DN1A), winds lazily through the charming Teleajăn River Valleys and equally charming little towns.

Vălenii de Munte in many ways is the capital town of the foothill villages, with some deeply charming back streets and fun little museums and festivals.  

Nearby Slănic is a well-respected resort town, the largest spa centre in County Prahova.   And at the head of the valley is little Cheia and the Ciucaş Mountains.

Ploieşti

Not Just an Oil Town!

Much like Houston in Texas, Ploieşti is a town of hidden treasures which lift the cultural, architectural and natural profile of the town well beyond that of "just an oil town".

Similar to Houston, Ploieşti benefits from being on major trade routes, and has developed as a strong cultural, scientific and educational center.

With several rather unique museums (see below), artistic isnstitutions and monuments, Ploieşti has a some good restaurants and hotels, and makes a reasonable base if you are sampling the Prahovan foothills and mountains.    Benefitting from being a bit closer than Bucureşti, you can spend a day in Sinaia, Buşteni, Cheia or even Târgovişte and return to Ploieşti ready for the next day's exploration.

Ploieşti Attractions

Take quick look around Ploieşti and you'll realise it's a town a cut above most across the country.  Inscribed with "The Constution and the Electoral Law", and "Defenders of Public Liberty",  the Romanian Statue of Liberty was inaugurated soon after the Turks were fought back in 1878.

Today, Ploieşti's Statue of Liberty is worth a few photos -- certainly an ironic monument for visitors from New York at least!  Also in town is the County Aquarium, the Art Museum, and the "Paul Constantinescu" Memorial Museum commemorates the life and the music of Ploieşti's most famous composer.  

The citizens of Ploieşti are also proud of their poet son Nichita Stănescu, dedicating a festival, library, high school, and memorial house to their shining light of local literature.

The Nichita Stănescu Memorial House, where the poet was born, was first nationalised under the communists, then sold, and the Memorial Society run by his surviving relatives managed to get it back again in 1998 and transferred to the local county administration.  See more on this great museum here!

Art, Science, Clocks and Oil!

The Ploieşti Art Museum is beautifully adorned with balconies, stucco friezes around the windows, French-style chimneys, with decorative motifs in wrought iron on the building and matching the gates.

The main collection offers a nice sampling of the European genres, styles and influences on Romanian painting over the previous two centuries. Almost none of the important painters are missing from this collection, which generally spans the early 19th century to the latest works of the 20th century.  Check out the details here of this great gallery.

Assembled at the Ploieşti Clock Museum are clocks from some of Romania’s shining literary, artistic, royal and political life. 

Clocks once owned by Constantin Brâncoveanu and Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza are on display, along with several other notable luminaries.  Music boxes round out the almost-like-a-clock collection, along with other similarly precise mechanical devices, such as a symphonion, pianola, and mechanical pianos.  Check out a description of the collection here on our Ploieşti Guide.

If you don't stop in the National Oil Museum, at least remember that Romania had the world's first oil well, oil refinery and provided oil to light the streets of Bucharest, the first European capital to have street lighting of any kind!

(Readers have pointed out that Timişoara followed about 20 years later with electric street lighting, thanks to Mihai of Vadul Nou in Bucharest's southern quarters)

The building itself is listed as a historic monument, with the collection growing from 800 artefacts in 1961 to over 8,000 by 1994.   The museum preserves documents, photography and items from the early days of oil discovery and refinery in Romania, including geological displays on ore deposits, the petrochemical refining process, and how the oil came to light the streets of Bucharest, the first petrol-lit city in 1859 on the planet.   Check out more info on the National Oil Museum Here!

The very well done History and Archaeology museum covers where the Romanian people came from, and how they developed, starting with the Gaeto-Dacian people.

Recent additions to the museum include a very well done section (opened in 1997) on Romania's legendary Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), including documents associating the town with the famous leader.  There are also sports displays, and coins collection and medals collection, and a collection of local  rocks in the colourful Lapidarium. 

Old Târgşor was the home to the Princes of Wallachia, and today is a famous archaeological site southwest of Ploieşti. 

The 17ha site really has something for everyone, with the site offering insights to life in mediaeval Romania.   Read more here.

Ploieşti Fun Activities, Oil Museum, Maps, Lodging, Agents, History

The Prahova River Valley

The Biggest and the Best!

Home to the resort towns of Royal Sinaia, Big Little Buşteni, Azuga, and capped by Predeal at the pass, the Prahova River Valley is the best known and most-travelled, the long valley being the main historic route to Braşov.

Located along the western-most margin of the county and the fabulous Bucegi Natural Park, the Prahova River Valley is the route for the main N1 highway between Bucharest and Braşov over the pass in Transilvania to the north.

Check out our sections in this County Prahova guide below for the main Prahova River towns of Câmpina and Breaza closer to Ploieşti, and then up the river to Sinaia, the Bucegi Mountains, Buşteni and Azuga.   See our County Braşov guide for information on Predeal.

Buşteni

Big Little Buşteni!

Buşteni is the first stop for Romania's burgeoning middle class, with accommodation across all levels of comfort, and great access to skiing, the gondolas, great hiking and the great outdoors!

With an altitude of at the lovely fin-de-siecle train station, Buşteni is just a trail-hop, brook-skip or a ski-jump away from your mountain sport of choice, be it hiking, fishing, or skiing. 

All activities centre on the spectacular views, and at Buşteni, the wallet can also enjoy some rather good bargains, getting far fewer of the price-plumping international jet-setters seen in Sinaia.

That Cross on the Hill

The memorial cross is un-missable, and towers high over Buşteni at to commemorate the lives sacrificed as the Kingdom of Romania was overrun by German, Austrian, Turkish, and Bulgarian troops in WWI.Read More about the Heroes' Cross and Romania's Queen Marie

Proud Romanian troops had amassed at Buşteni before staging their "liberation" of Transilvania to the north in 1916, only to be savagely driven back when the German army joined the Austrians to push the Romanians back down past Buşteni, eventually capturing Bucharest and 80% of Romania.

A Mountain Town's Treasures

Even if you are bound for the slopes, eager for the mountains, and have visions of grand panoramas in your head, most of the interesting spots around Buşteni are probably near your accommodation!

If you're driving up in your own car or with your Romanian driver-translator, or coming into Buşteni on one of the frequent and excellent train services between Bucharest and Braşov, you'll find the fairly large and grand Buşteni train station a good base for your Buşteni explorations.  

Just across from the Train Station is the Last Grenade Monument to the WWI hero Corporal Vasile Musat.  The inauguration ceremony was auspiced by her Serene Majesty, Queen Marie (who almost married her English cousin King George, but that is another story), who brought her court to underscore the solemnity of the dedication.  Read more on the monument here.

Local Attractions

The thoroughly charming house of the famed writer Cezar Petrescu, is a memorial to the man and his works, over 45 years of writing as a jounalist and author.

There are actually quite a few often-missed treasures in Buşteni to keep you entertained on those rainy days when hitting the trails doesn't appeal.   There is the interesting Cantacuzino Castle, built in 1910 for Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino in his twilight years, where the former two-time prime minister lived until 1913. 

Or take in the Royal Church at Buşteni, founded by Queen Elizabeth and King Carol sports a diverse architecture and interiors.  Massive oak furnishings were installed under direction of Italian craftsmen, with the stunning iconostasis crafted in Vienna.   Most of the alter artwork was done by Agnes Exner, who was responsible for the same wondrous work at the Sinaia Monastery.   Read more on the Royal Church here in our Buşteni section.

  Tired of all the Romanian culture and Royal castles down in Sinaia?  Check out La Maison Franco-Roumaine (MFR) in the little town of Moissy-Cramavel in France (about south-east of Paris) paired with it's Romanian sister in Buşteni, the Casa Româno-Franceza (CRF) in 1996.  The centre also graces the Buşteni township with it's Armonia youth choir, and makes it's halls available to the community for use.   Read more about the centre here!

Trails in the Prahova Valley

On our main Buşteni page, we've included a few of the more popular day and half-day hikes which don't actually go up into the Bucegi mountains much.  See our Bucegi Natural Park guide for some great trails leaving Buşteni.

Also included on our Buşteni page are three good walks -- the very popular Wailing Falls trail, taking about 150 minutes to get there and back, then the trail down the Prahova River valley to Sinaia (but going on the eastern mountain side), and the Zamora Saddle and Peak trail, which goes up the opposite side of the valley from the Bucegi massif in the west.

The Popular Path to Wailing Falls

The trail leading south-west from Buşteni leads up into the foothills to Wailing Falls (Cascada Urlătoare) at . Taking a little over one hour for most, this accessible trail is open during the entire year.  

This is a favourite and well-known walk, frequented by school groups and tourists alike, this gentle walk through the low woodlands follows the trail to the south and towards the escarpment (see Map) to the waterfall, well worth a few good photos.   About a third of the way down, another trail takes off (marked with ) up to the southwest up "The Stairs" to Burnt Rock (Piatra Arsă). 

Read more about the Wailing Falls Trail and the Prahova Valley Trails in our Buşteni Guide now. 

Buşteni Fun Activities, Heroes' Cross, Maps, Lodging, Agents, History

Sinaia

Sizzling Sinaia!

The Royal buzz is hard to miss in this winter ski resort and summer wonderland, full of jetsetters from Germany and the UK, flocking to the the Royal Domain with it's castles and chateaux.

Whilst not as popular as Buşteni with Romania's own burgeoning middle class, Sinaia is the closest full-service mountain resort to Bucharest.  Just two hours away by car or train with frequent services in all classes.   Read more in the Sinaia Transportation section.

 Reserves and Preserves

 Sinaia’s reason for being is surely the stunning surrounds as gateway to the Prahova valley. 

As home to Romania’s Royal residence for over a century, Sinaia has always had strict laws to maintain it’s beauty, with the felling of trees or even picking the tempting flowers, from peonies, and Edelweiss to the golden gentian, are long forbidden.   

The Bucegi National Park

In addition to tracts of dense fir and spruce forest, Sinaia is blessed with the spectacular Bucegi Natural Park, which surrounds the valley on the western side, covering a total area of   

Golden Peak (Vârful cu Dor), the Ant (Furnica), and Burnt Rock (Piatra Arsă) all feature prominently on the mountain skyline.   Read about the Bucegi National Park here

 Between Two WorldsRead more in our Sinaia Geography section

Sinaia is situated in the Prahova river valley which climbs up into the Carpathians which form the border between Wallachia and Transilvania.

Just past the Wallachian foothills and well into the Bucegi mountains, Sinaia has long been on the main trade route coming out of Braşov down to Bucharest and the rich alluvial plains below. 

Sinaia Fun Activities, Royal Peleş, Maps, Lodging, Agents, History

Bucegi

Our special section on the beautiful Bucegi Natural Park let's you understand why this is Romania's premier natural wonderland, very much akin to a Yosemite or Cradle Mountain National park in America or Australia.

With the largest cliff system in Europe, indeed the Bucegi mountains constitute the crowning glory of County Prahova!   Check out our Special Guide to this stunning area with the links below:

The Bucegi Mountains Great Outdoor Itineraries, Protected Reserves, Park Maps, Mammals, Hiking Trails, Flowers, and Super Skiing!

CâmpinA

Câmpina has been a way-station and agrarian community for over 500 years (since 1503), sited fortuitously on  the main route between the wide Romanian plains below and  the mountain communities in Transylvania up the Prahova River valley. 

The Câmpina Customs House was operating on the trade route to Transvilania in 1593, and soon thereafter the location became a permanent market town in 1663.  

By the late 1700s, the Austrian roadbuilding corps improved the road coming down from Transilvania, further bolstering Câmpina’s utility and importance as the first major border town coming down the new road to Wallachia.   

So key was this town on the trade route, that a customs house was built in 1888. The towns fortunes boomed somewhat when oil was discovered, and wellheads and a refinery sprung up, giving Europe it’s largest petroleum refinery in 1895.

But oil is hardly the reason most tourists will flock to Câmpina.  It's the Grigorescu House and the Hasdeu Temple which make a stop-off in Câmpina a worthwhile way to pick up on some true cultural gems!

The Choice of the Illuminati

The poet Cezar Bolliac took up his post as artist in residence for the local lord Ion Campineanu, and in 1836 described the beauty of the township, which was instrumental in bringing more artist types to the town.  

The intellectuals and artists tended to flock to Câmpina through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, seeing the illustrious Mr. Hasdeu move in, along with Nicolae Grigorescu.  

George Cosbuc could not resist the charms of the place, and Romanian writers and artists Dimitrie Bolintineanu, I. Heliade Radulescu, Constantin Istrati, Eugen Jebeleanu, and the decidedly naughty left-wing poet and journalist Geo Bogza found Câmpina quite suitable to his interbellum shenanigans.   

Câmpina today has a great little cultural centre dedicated to Bogza; do check by there or at the mayor's office for details on the current shows and events, which take place around the year.

The Grigorescu House and Museum

Your first impression of this great old house is the dominating series of wooden verandahs stretching all the way round the first floor (second floor for Americans), making it a prime example of the Romanian country home.

The cozy interior will hit you with it’s warmth in the entry hall, which extends through the house with wooden staircases other charming touches. Even if you’re not that interested in one of the world’s foremost Impressionist artist, the house alone will harken the gentle country life of decades past.

Grigorescu actually collected some great pieces in Istanbul, and these are on display in a very professional manner, along with several other surprisingly well done museum displays portraying the artists life and some of his favourite objects collected through his years.

To the left of the main hall you can see a truly fascinating insight into the artists thinking and work, with an unfinished composition in strong 19th century academy style, with the other half being hardly sketched in.

In the living room you can see the ghosts of the famous visitors who graced the Grigorescu country house, including other artists, journalists, politicians and theorists. A reasonably furnished library includes great works in Greek and Latin, as well as reams of French textbooks and literature the artist collected during his long sojourns in Paris.

But it’s the artist’s own studio (atelier) which keeps the crowds coming back. In a well-lit and lively space, you get the sense that the artist has just stepped out of the room as his unfinished piece "The Spring" sits on the easel.

 Take in some of his other great works here too, from his self-portrait, to the Barbizon Sunset, "Pastorita stând", "Ciobanas cu turma", "Care cu boi trecând un vad" and others. 

In all, the whole house is a showcase of how deep and rich Romanian culture was in the late 1800s, from the beautiful tapestries and furniture to the pleasingly clever architecture. Put aside a few hours to stop in Câmpina and take in this national treasure. You’ll have a much better understanding of what Kingdomn of Romania was like at the turn of last century, and a great life to your own spirits too!

Open Daily Except Mondays, 9am – 5pm (10am – 6pm summers)

Romanian Artist, World Artist

Nicolae Grigorescu died here at Câmpina in 1907, and left behind him a stunning lifetime of remarkable and significant artwork which is both uniquely Romanian and a giant amongst late 19th Century art in general.

Born the next county over in 1838, Grigorescu painted monasteries all around Romania – a fitting and poignant beginning for a man who would come to embody the ethos and soul of Romania through his effusive and joyful works.

In his later years, Grigorescu must have had the curious perspective of nearly a whole life as he went to see work down the road at Băicoi, done over fifty years before when he was just fifteen in 1853.

After Băicoi, the developing artist moved on to do the Căldăruşani monastery east of Ploieşti, and then at Zamfira and Agapia, where the future Romanian prime minister and foreign minister under King Carol I, Mihail Kogălniceanu made his acquaintance.

Kogălniceanu, a Moldovean of letters with a near encyclopaedic knowledge managed to convince his compatriots in government to award a subsidy to to be able to go to Paris, where he blossomed during the birth of the Impressionist school. Grigorescu presented his works in Bucharest in 1870, and toured Europe with his increasing success.

His credentials as true Romanian patriot and painter were only bolstered as he went to paint on the front lines during the ouster of the Turks in the 1878 wars. He returned to Paris to develop his art until 1890, and then exhibited at the Athenaeum in Bucharest for the next 15 years.

The house you’ll see in Câmpina was built towards the turn of the 20th century, at which time the painter was already highly regarded by his compatriots and lovers of great Impressionist art alike.

166 Carol I Blvd, Daily Except Mondays, 9am - 5pm, +40 (244) 335 598

The Hasdeu Temple Castle Indeed one of the odder architectural monuments in Romaniaţ, it was nonetheless a treasure trove of Spiritualist lore of the early 20th century

The Hasdeu Temple Castle at Câmpina

This unique architectural gem in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains makes a stop in Câmpina well worthwhile if you can spare the extra hour or two en-route to your resort at Sinaia or Buşteni.

Built of stone, iron and wood, the high central tower is flanked by smaller rooks on each side. Inside, the main tower forms a large space used by the builder for his spiritualist ceremonies.

You enter through a curiously massive door made of stone, which pivots in the middle, rather than swings open, and is inscribed with the family coat of arms. Look up and you’ll see one of those eyes in a triangle with rays of light coming out, very much like on the American one-dollar banknote.

Hasdeu was greatly saddened by his daughter’s death in Paris, but cheered up considerably when she started to talk to him from the afterlife.

Her diabtribes on social mores, religious notes, and philosophy were dutifully transcribed and posted on the stone thrones in the main entry hall.

Get ready for a bit of fun-house atmosphere, perhaps unintended, but the hallway of mirrors is indeed like a carnival attraction, leading to the round central room. Hasdeu, in true Romanian fashion, decided to mix his spiritualism with the traditional Orthodox Christianity, so couldn’t resist adding a sculpture of Jesus, and fashioning the steps and column in the tower to represent the Holy Grail.

The whole Temple Castle really does point out how cheap labour really was in the 19th century. To build something like this from the ground-up today would be prohibitive cost-wise, and it would be hard to find workers to build the vaulted ceiling, the iron parapets, lattice work, and even the altar of Carrara marble.

More conventional rooms follow off the Temple, with a living room, parlour, dining room, study and bedroom all appropriately furnished. Do bring the camera for the various frescoes and carved marble panels. The Animal Room hosted séances, and some of Hasdeus manuscripts and weird ectoplasmic photography are on display as well.

In all, a fairly transfixing place which offers a truly significant insight into the Spritualist movement of the 19th Century, which in all, had quite a few adherants in society and government alike in those heady years of the Kingdom of Romania.

Hasdeu, Romanian Spiritualist

Câmpina was a manufactured haven for Hasdeu, who retreated there after years of moving from Bessarabia to Moldova to Wallachia, and a varied career as soldier, linguist, editor, and politician.

Romania, like many European nations, is surrounded by other countries where the languages can be quite different. This makes philology, the study of languages and cultures, a rather more European discipline. Tadeau Hasdeu was actually born in the far north of the Romanian speaking lands in what was then Russian Bessarabia, near Hotin.

Hasdeu was able to converse in over 6 languages, and could get along in about 25, making him one of the more accomplished philologists of any time.

After fighting in the Crimean War for his country (Russia), in 1857 he changed his name to Bogdan Petriceicu Hadeu and moved to Iaşi in Moldova to begin work as a librarian and high school teacher. Moving further south again 5 years later, Hasdeu continued his increasingly literary career in Bucharest, editing a periodical and then starting the Romanian Historical Archive, which rather cleverly combined Slavonic and Romanian language sources for a more complete compilation of Romanian history.

On Language and History

Hasdeu delved into Romanian history in ways which had not been analysed previously.

But his forays into the Romanian language proved a bit unstable in years later. His attempt to compile a comprehensive dictionary went off-track, and further off-track with a woefully nationalist stance on the origins of the Romanian language, which tried to almost comically downplay the influence and importance of Slavic words.

Hasdeu got caught up in the political skirmishes between the personal union of Moldova and Wallachia under A. I. Cuza, Wallachia’s Mihail Kogălniceanu, and the proposed ruler (Domnitor), the future King Carol I of Romania.

The Hasdeu family itself claimed to have been distant relatives of Ştefan Petriceicu, a Moldovan prince in the 1600s, after Stephen the Great (Ştefan cel Mare).  Hasdeu was briefly jailed during the Republic of Ploiesti debacle in 1870, but was released to eventually serve in Parliament with the Liberal Party.

His views were appreciated by the cognoscenti in Bucharest, and he found a post with the State Archives and as professor in the banner year for Romanian nationalism, 1878, when Romania invaded Dobrogea for the last time.

Ten years later, the sad news came from Paris – where his only child Julia (Iulia) had taken ill and died in her first year at Sorbonne university, after having attended the Sévigné secondary school. The tragic blow crushed Hasdeu, who sought comfort by searching for his sweet daughter in the afterworld. The Câmpina home is full of his spiritualist materials, including his 1892 theoretical work involving philosophy, history and spirtualism, Sig Cogito.  Hasdeu died at his Câmpina castle August 25, 1907.

199 Carol I Blvd, 9am - 5pm Except Mondays,  +40 (244) 335 599

„Pe acest loc în ziua de 13 septembrie 1913 s-au frânt aripile zburătorului Aurel Vlaicu din satul Binţinţi – Transilvania, în încercarea eroică de a trece cel dintâi în zbor Carpaţii înlănţuiţi, cu pasărea de fier făcută de mintea şi mâinile lui.”

The Aurel Vlaicu Memorial

Eh, the guy had true grit.  After countless early successes as one of Romania's and the world's aviation pioneers, the famous pilot came to an inglorious end at Câmpina.

Whilst attempting to gain altitude in preparation for his flight in 1913, up the Prahova Valley and over the Predeal Pass to the high Transilvanian plateau, aviator Aurel Vlaicu's ageing Vlaciu II model airplane was believed to have suffered a catastrophic structural failure, and crashed ignobly at Câmpina.

The memorial monument stands to this day in Băneşti with the inscription:  "On this location on the 13th day of September 1913, broke the wings of airman Aurel Vlaicu,  of Binţinţi village in Transilvania, in the heroic attempt to cross in flight the chain of the Carpathians, with the iron bird made of his mind and hands.

Elsewhere in Câmpina

Being more or less centrally located in Romania, yet closet to Bucharest, Câmpina is home to a detective school for the national police force.  

This is the only such academy for police agents in the country.   The population of about 35,000 also supports several trade-school level secondary schools which prepare the youth of Câmpina for careers in the petrochemical, forestry, and machinery fields, as well as the more arts and letters oriented Nicolae Grigorescu National College.

There is a little museum at the Saint Nicholas church dedicated to the abbot of the Slobozia hermitage, and the local residence called Vila Ştefănescu is also known as the House with Griffins (the mythical lion-eagle character), along with the Basic House for Children and Students (used by the communist era Young Pioneers organisation).   See the local mayor's office website for more photos and info in Romania.

Breaza

Foothill Town Charm!

Sweet and sleepy Breaza has a name which means “courage” in Romanian, and has a population of slightly fewer than 20,000 townspeople.  

You'll be struck by the charm of the place as your see the country cottages with their wooden carved verandas, neatly lined up along the town roads, and the gorgeous little Saint Nicholas church from the late 1770s, complete with the traditional murals and frescoes on the welcoming verandah.

The Breaza area was a little fiefdom in the 1600s and remained a little agrarian centre until it was declared a spa town in the 1930s.

The township includes a couple of small villages (Podu Vadului and Breaza de Sus) and the townsfolk subsist with farming, needlework, and jobs in other nearby towns.

Luckily for the smart tourist, many houses rent out rooms in the summer months, and Breaza is almost perfectly located between the museums at Ploieşti, the historical sights at Târgovişte, the royal palaces at Sinaia, and skiing and hiking in the Bucegi mountains. Breaza is also well located to get to Braşov within an easy drive, and you can make Bucharest too within 90 minutes.

From Mike Ormsby's new must-read book 'NEVER MIND THE BALKANS, HERE'S ROMANIA!', with a laconic English perspective on life in Romania and the Romanian people Read More Here

Country Delights

Mitu beckons me out back, wants to give me a tour.  The yard is full of animals:  sarcastic geese, nervous turkeys, ducks, cats, skinny dogs, gossiping pigeons, and dozens of hens. 

A huge wooden barrel squats near a fence, stained purple from grapes.  It looks like a giant plum.  An ancient bathtub sits nearby, encrusted with grey cement.    In a small outhouse, Mitu proudly shows me a big wicker basket full of big brown eggs.

 Anna makes a superb lunch of deep-fried sheep's cheese, fried eggs, mămăligă corn porridge, succulent home-grown tomatoes, spicy pickles and crusty bread.  She serves it on their terrace, under a canopy of vines. 

-- from the tale "Someone in the Village"

The sun dapples our plates as we eat.  Birdsong echoes through high trees all around.  It's rural bliss, like sitting in the Garden of Eden.  Mitu pours big glasses of purple wine, boasting how he had a good vintage last year. 

Country Paradise for City Souls

Breaza is home to many vacation homes for Bucharest types who realise the slightly lower property prices there mean great value, especially considering the beautiful Carpathian foothills and even a good 18 hole golf course (a much rarer feature in Romania than in English-speaking countries).

If you have made the smart choice and decided to get a room at a local guest house in Breaza, if you don’t feel like driving for a day, you can spend time at the local folk art museum, which displays a lot of the town’s needlework, and interestingly, there is also a a military high school with small museum.

Brebu

From Câmpina, the road towards Brebu going to the Doftana Valley which starts in the middle of town, taking off from the national road (Drumul National 1) between Bucharest and Braşov from the right of the old Câmpina town hall, to the left of the Nicolae Grigorescu high school.

The county road (DJ) going from Câmpina to the Doftana Valley begins to twist and turn fairly quickly after Câmpina as it follows the Doftana River. You’ll immediately be reminded of somewhere in the Blue Mountains as you cross a stone bridge and passing to the right the Telega station.

From here the road splits in two, one going up towards the Doftana Museum and the Telega community, and the other to the left, going in front of the Zorile restaurant, and going up to Brebu.

Coming from Câmpina and going across the bridge over the Doftana river, if you make half a turn towards the left you’re at the confluence of the Doftana and Lupa Brook. About 100m above these rivers, and at 510m above sea level, you come across the Brebu plateau and the township of the same name.

The Fork in the Road

You can continue on from Brebu to the Doftana Valley, following to the right of the Sycamore Dam going towards Teşila and Trăişteni, the Doftana Valley township, and further along, towards Predeluş and over the mountains to Săcele.

The whole Brebu to Doftana Valley area is criss-crossed with county roads (22km thereof) and 96km of village roads from Brebu Megieşesc, Brebu Mânăstire and Pietriceaua. Most of the village roads (about 60%) are gravel, and the county roads are paved.

Brebu has a particularly picturesque position, and Brebu has had more than it’s share of poetry and lofty tales written about it through time, a favourite of poets and historians alike, including articles by Nicolae Iorga in 1910. Grigorescu painted the shepherds here, and Ştefan Luchian commemorated the region with 30 of his works, and Sava Henţia worked in Brebu from 1866 until around 1905.   Read more about  the painter Ştefan Luchian here 

The Brebu Fortifications

The main buildings in Brebu went up to serve spiritual and safety concerns, including the church, bell tower, thick walls, various houses and outbuildings. 

Work on the main church began in the spring of 1641, and extended through the summer of 1650, about average in those days to put up a large church of this time.  Work continued on the rest of the surrounding structures then and later, extending through 1690.  

One of the truly interesting aspects of the complex, from an architectural and historical standpoint, was that it all went up as contemporary works of Brâncoveanu, who did his best works in the decades following. 

The Doftana River Valley

 The Doftana Valley community is placed sweetly in a picturesque mountain setting, exuding it’s own quality of charm and atmosphere which sets it apart from the cavernous Prahova valley just to the west, or the long Teleajen valley to the east. 

The glorious Doftana Valley extends all the way up to the county line with Braşov, where the higher mountain peaks yield to the great Transilvanian plateau beyond.  The headwaters of the Doftana River flow out of the snow capped peaks of the Zănoaga mountains, to Big Nail and Little Nail (Unghia Mare şi Mic), Big Fellow and Little Fellow mountains (Baiu Mare şi Mic), along with the Cucioaia, Radela and Orjogoaia peaks.

Seen from a distance, the Big Nail mountain, with it’s geometric lines, seems to be an Egyptian pyramid, put in the way to mar the otherwise wholly Carpathian landscape.  

To the left of the River Doftana and a bit more towards the south are the Negras Massifs with their mineral springs and meadows, with altitudes averaging around 1600m. 

To the south, the Doftana Valley area is bordered by a series of little hills locally called “Galmas”, with Dry Galma being 1137m, and Craitei Galma and The Galma being 1043m. 

The river itself traverses the township’s length springing from the Garbova mountains, it flows a distance of about 50km until it flows into the Prahova River to the south of Câmpina.

Sycamore Lake and Sycamore Dam 

Sycamore lake collects the pure drinking water from the snow runoff, extending 3km up the valley offering a charming view.   Both banks offer come great camping sites with some rather decorative vacation houses.  The dam itself was finished in 1971, and is 108m high, and along the top, 465m wide.

The Doftana Gorge (Cheile Doftanei)

Carved out of a hard stata of rock and twisted by the techtonic shifts, the Doftana Gorge is situated on the road down to Câmpina, just a few kilometres from Sycamore Lake.

Other activites include the trail to Rye Peak (Varful Secariei) , which takes off about 6km from Teşila to the west;  the Old Church Ruins (Ruinele Bisericii Vechi) in the little village of Trăişteni is the starting point for the trail going towards Braşov.

The Glodeasa  (roughly, “muddy”) natural reserve features stands of fir trees.

The Black Valley Fine Arts Camp

The international camp for fine arts (tabara de creatie plastică) at Black Valley is open to professional artists across the fields of sculpture, graphic arts, portraiture, landscape painting, pottery and more.  

The camp opens each summer towards early August, and hosts up to 15 fine artists each season.   The Black Valley Fine Art Museum is under the auspices of the Teşila Cultural House, featuring over 300 works of art, many of which done by celebrated artists from the annual international camp.

Hunting and Fishing

A rich population of diverse animals live in the forests and open grassy areas around the Doftana Valley, and where there is game, there are hunting parties.   

The Doftana Valley, being a less-travelled tourist route and yet still within a couple of hours from Bucharest, tends to have the right combination for international game tours.                         

Sycamore Lake is nicely composed of the right conditions for fishing parties, and the chances of catching a big one is actually quite good here, the lake being formed by a man-made dam, and with good shores for fish breeding. 

Museums

The Doftana Valley area presents a certain ethnographic and popular art interest, and the local museums collect and treasure the inestimabile value of the local valley spirit.

The Ethnographic and Folklore museum, opened in conjunction with the Trăişteni Cultural House preserves the traditions of the region, from earthenware vases and cookware, embroidered towels, wooden engravings, fretwork, and examples of traditional clothing from the region. 

Churches of the Doftana Valley

The Sleep of the Mother of the Lord Church

The fine and hard-working valley folk of the Doftana Valley built this church in a picturesque vale from 1871 to 1875, which was considered fairly fast for those days.   A rather handsome porch was added in 1930, and the interior was painted in the early Communist years in 1954 and 1955 by the painter Constantin Călinescu, undergoing restoration work by Elena Vasilescu.

The Princely Saints Church (“SFIINTII VOIEVOZI")

This church in  Trăişteni went up slowly between 1926 and 1942, and was consecrated 8 November 1942.   Painted by D. D. Stoica from Bucharest in oils in the byzantine style, the walls compliment the massive oak furniture.   If you have the chance to explore this great little country church, check out the portrait of King Mihai I, now resident at Peleşor castle the next valley over (at Sinaia).  

Nature

It’s no mistake the that crystal waters of the Doftana river are used for drinking water all across County Prahova, for the clear waters are very much appreciated far and wide.

The sweet waters come down through the Teşila-Trăişteni basin, serpenting through the valley fed by many springs and cool tributaries across ozonating rapids. 

The Doftana valley is quite rich in grassy fields and forests, making for a wealth of forest margin species.    Flower species run through early spring to late autumn here, each competing for the summer suns across meadows and woodland alike.  

Colorful butterflies and other insects make this transition zone from foothills to high mountain valley abundant with cross-zonal confluences. 

In mid summer you can come across wild raspberries in the deep forests of fir and beech which line the valley.  The beech generally runs up to about 1000m high, but once you’re into the Orjogoaia mountains, you’ll also find it mixed with fir to 1200m, along with more sporadically, pines, hornbeam, spruce, and birch.

Wildlife of the Doftana Valley

The forests in the Doftana Valley and the surrounding  mountains feature stags and deer in the higher grassy plains of the northern Doftana area. 

 Dominating the forest margins with their size and power are the Carpathian Brown Bear, which rummage for roots, sniff about for forest fruits, and seek out elusive honey, along with chasing the odd ground marmot or squirrel.    In the deeper forest lives the wolf, lynx, polecat, fox, and otter.

Wild birds live across the valley in a wide variety.  The woodpecker is heard along tree branches and skylarks (ciocarlia) abound, with the mountain cock found in the spruce forests of the zone.   

Throughout there are stony blackbirds, and chaffinches, quail, sparrow, and titmouse amongst other forest and forest margin species.   The mountain brown tortoise, and forest vipers and lizards round out the repiles, some of which are fed upon by the raptors, with owls being common in the deep forests, and eagles in the higher climes where they can survey the more open fields.

Telega

Just 35km north of Ploieşti at 550m up into the Carpathian foothills, the Telega township includes the villages of Telega itself, along with Doftana, Buştenări, Meliceşti, and Boşileşti.

 It neighbours on Brebu to the north, and down to the south-west, it borders with the outskirts of Câmpina.

Doftana Lake

This lake, just past Telega station was formed out of an old salt mine. The Doftana salt mine was abandoned in 1900, and as many did in the day, the mine caved in, leaving a 24m deep lake about 140m across.

Curiously, the lake is not particularly saline at the surface, the heavier salt water sinking in the deep darkness of the lake (over 200g/l concentration). Due to it’s depth, it’s around the 14C mark even in the winter months.

 The Doftana Penitentiary

If you want some rather strange photos to take home with you, pose at the ruins of the old Doftana penitentiary, built to Belgian designs in 1897. Designed for a whopping 150 inmates, over 400 were housed there in latter days.

 An earthquake in 1940 cause collapse of several walls, sending many inmates to an early grave, as commemorated in the little cemetery on the banks of the Doftana river nearby.

The jail became a museum in 1949 under the communists, becoming, rather grandly, an official Communist Party Romanian Museum (o filiala a Muzeului Partidului Comunist Roman). This lasted until 1977, when yet another strong earthquake made it too ridiculous to repair anything, and the museum too closed.

The prison and grounds are under the auspices of the local Telega mayor’s office now, and you can enjoy the park, gardens and ruins at your leisure. Nice spot for a picnic.

Salt Bath Anyone?

The Telega Bathing Resort runs along both sides of the Telega Creek in a little circular pocket in the hills which run between 450m and 700m high in the immediate area.

Enjoy a soak – it’s good value by western standards – and any manner of your ails may disappear. The salt baths there claim to be beneficial for rheumatism (of the muscles, bones, nerves, sciatica, lumbar, lymphic and arthritic), gynocological ails (including ovarian problems and sterility), as well as for the “amelioratisation of peripheral nervous system illnesses”.

Whatever the case, the baths feel great and the nearby restaurant is quite good, worth a night or two!

More in Telega

Other notable stops around Telega are the 1968 monument commemorating the local revolutionaries of the 1848 uprising along the road to the Doftana Valley, and the Telega Youth Camp, in the Rotunda foothills.

Kids come each summer here and the grounds are rented out to fairs and parties with a big dining and cooking area.  Check in at the mayor's office for details on the camp.

Băicoi  

 Băicoi near Floreşti, is one of the train stops between big-city Ploieşti and sunny country Câmpina (be sure to take the Personal train out of Ploieşti if you're stopping here). 

Its name is derived from "Baicu" which although a Romanian name, may be of Cuman origin (the Cumans inhabited today’s Wallachia and parts of Moldova and Dobrogea, pushing out the Pechenegs and establishing the first Wallachian government).  

If you're planning on checking out the excellent Ploieşti Art Museum, or are on you way up to Câmpina's Grigorescu Memorial House, you should really complete the trifecta with a visit to see Grigorescu's early work in Băicoi.

Grigorescu was but a young lad when he worked on the porch of the church here in Băicoi, and even then, you can tell the guy had talent, great control, and an innate understanding the soul of the work required.

The Teleajen River Valley

As the third and eastern-most of County Prahova's river valleys, the Teleajen river valley is also the longest in County Prahova, stretching from Cheia in the far north, down to the Ialomiţa river in the south.

Along the way, the valley provides a beautiful drive (see the video below from a motorcyclist going up the valley), and a far freer and less-travelled route than the more congested Prahova Valley route to the west.

Localities in The Teleajenul River Valley and Eastern Prahova area:  Vălenii de Munte -  Cosmina de Jos -  Cosminele -  Gura Vitioarei -  Gornet -  Vărbilău -  Aluniş -  Ştefeşti -  Predeal -  Predeal-Sărari -  Sărari -  Zâmbroala -  Bobiceşti -  Vitioara de Sus -  Şoimari -  Surani -  Ariceştii Zeletin -  Cărbuneşti -  Pitigoi -  Drajna de Jos -  Teişani -  Drajna de Sus -  Drajna -  Poseştii Pământeni -  Poseşti -  Nucşoara de Sus -  Nucşoara de Jos -  Izvoarele -  Gheaba -  Ceraşu -  Strachiojd -  Bodeşti -  Măneciu -  Măceniu-Ungureni -  Slon -  Brădet -  Valea Anei -  Târleşti -  Poseştii ungureni -  Plăieţu -  Cheia -  Prăjani -  Ştefeşti -  Livadea -  Scurteşti -  Ştubeiu -  Valea Stălpului

The Teleajen Highway Connecting Ploieşti with Braşov going the less crowded route!

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Vălenii de Munte

The name Vălenii de Munte harkens a suitably rustic image, meaning roughly "The Mountain Valleys" (or more exactly, “The Valleyfolk of the Mountains”). Yet, as writer Nicolae Labiş wrote of his beloved home town, “the Valleys are in fact made from hills, and not from mountains”.

And indeed this little town is nestled in gentle foothills, blessed with a main road and it's own rail line, which extends another 17km north towards the Ciucaş Mountains and the Bratocea pass.

With a bit over 13,000 townsfolk, the citizens of Vălenii de Munte populate the upper Teleajen River valley, stretching about 5km along where the Văleanca river joins the Teleajen river.

The Teleajen River

The Teleajen river springs forth from the heights of the Ciucaş Massif, called in it’s upper reaches, Beer Brook.

It stretches 113km, making it’s own long valley until reaching the Prahova River. In the Cheia basin it gains waters from the Tâmpa creek, and coming out of the mountains, the Telejenel adds more, then forming the Măneciu lake to the north of the hamlet of the same name.

The name roughly means “the road valley which links you”, and in Roman days, the river and valley were a known trade route starting in Transvilania in the upper Buzău valley, through the Fetii meadows and down along the Teleajenel tributary.

The Teleajen valley was maintained as an important commercial road between Muntenia and Transilvania, helping greatly to develop the trade centres of Vălenii de Munte and Ploieşti. Michael the Brave used this route in 1599 and left his name at several locations around the Teleajen Valley.

Triangulate from Văleni!

The position of town for the tourist is almost inspired, being just 25 km north of the big smoke, mighty Ploieşti, only 89km from the fairytale city of Braşov and just under 100km from vibrant Bucharest, making all of those enticing destinations an easy morning’s drive.

As you can see, Vălenii de Munte, with it’s mountain charm and nearby hiking and spas, is nicely located between other great sites.

Much like Câmpina, similarly situated at the foot of a main mountain valley and historic trade route, Vălenii de Munte was an early customs post and market town, with the first reference appearing in the 1400s in a tale by Dan II.

Archaeological digs in the area have found continuous inhabitation at this happy confluence of mountain and alluvial river soils with a wealth of Mesolithic and Neolithic finds (check out the county-run town museum for a few of these, although most have been consolidated in Ploieşti).  

The Nicolae Iorga Memorial House

Arguably the most famous resident of Vălenii de Munte was Romanian Prime Minister and historian Nicolae Iorga, who lived here in what is now a memorial house and museum until 1940.   His house and museum are open to the public, with collections commemorating his rich life.

Leaf through his life in photos, books, displays commemorating his historical and political works, and enjoy the beautiful furnishings and effects from the early 20th Century.   There is also an interesting folk exhibit featuring some icons in both wood and glass, along with portraits of the Iorga family.  

It's clear from the displays that Iorga was one smart guy, and a serious intellectual and cultural asset to the Kingdom of Romania, admitted to the Romanian Academy at age 23.  

Rather fabulously, he exported Romanian literature and culture to Paris, founding and running the Romanian schools there in the 1920s.    And rather tragically, the man was gunned down by the fairly fascist National Guard in Sinaia in 1940, punctuating the tragedy that began with the Nazi invasion and the end of Romania's Golden Era.

The Iorga House and Museum, 90 Iorga Blvd (the main drag), 9am - 5pm, Closed Mondays

The Iorga Religious Art Museum

The great Romanian Iorga also founded a Missionary and Moral School, using one of Vălenii de Munte's oldest buildings built in the 1700s.

The mayor's office in Vălenii de Munte has done and excellent job restoring this significant old building, and it is stocked with some valuable exhibits of icons, ancient religious books, silverware and traditional clothing and costumes from years past in the Teleajen Valley region and Prahova.    

The school founded by Iorga was a cultural paradise for training Romania's future leaders (many of whom perished in the communist cultural purges of the late 1940s), and was a shining light in Vălenii de Munte from 1923 until World War II. 

The Iorga Religious Art Museum, 1 Iorga Blvd., 9am - 5pm, Closed Mondays.  +44 (244) 280 861

Tonitza's Choice

The town’s heritage was further enriched by being the residence of painter Nicolae Tonitza. Check out the galleries in Braşov, Tulcea and of course Ploieşti and Bucharest for some of Tonitza’s finest works.

A Fair Town Indeed

If you are lucky enough to spend a few days in the area, take a walk after lunch through some of the 17 neighbourhoods and marvel in the gothic and baroque architecture of the old quarters, a surprising find in such a non-touristy place.

The 9th of May is the annual town fair day, including speeches, flower displays, patriotic songs, spectacles, plays, sporting events, symposiums, expositions, and dancing, amongst other frivolities, food stalls, and agrarian displays. 5>

Summer sessions at the Nicolae Iorga University are held here, and in mid august the County Prahova Folklore Festival comes to town. In October the Vălenii de Munte Autumn Celebration takes over the town with cultural and artistic displays, autumn markets with the best of the local Teleajen vally harvests, along with the standard dancing, costumes, songs and celebrations.

But if you can’t quite make it to festive little Vălenii de Munte, you can at least check out the relocated "La barieră" inn in the very well-done Village Museum in Bucharest.

Slănic Prahova

The ancient Roman tradition of baths took hold in their Dacian provinces with a vengeance, with any bubbling water turned into an opportunity to laze about in the thermal waters.

The Romanians have coined a special term for this phenomenon, calling a spa facility a “statiune balneoclimaterica”, roughly meaning a place where you have a bath with a certain climate around it.

Since 1885, the main tourist draws in the town are the salt mines, with the newer one still in production, and the older one ("Unirea") open as a spa, amusement centre and a curious museum showing the history of salt mining, as well as an respiratory patient sanatorium in the salt air microclimate.

Up in the sunshine, the various salt lakes, Green Lake, Red Lake, and Shepherd’s Lake keep spirits afloat.

Hiking is quite good in the area, with a popular trail leading up the salt mountain itself, and to such fun-sounding destinations as Bride’s Grotto (formed in a 1914 cave-in), Foal Mound (Deluşorul Mânzului), and Cold Fountain (Fântâna Rece).

If you have a penchant for salt, this is indeed the place for you, and a few photos next to the biggest mountains of salt in Europe. Ringed around the main bathing areas above ground are boardwalks, a little beach, diving platform and a series of guest houses and hotels, all in the amphitheatre formed by the surrounding hills and mountains.

Originally the rail line was built to carry all that salt to a waiting world, but now the personal trains coming up from Ploieşti are loaded with fun-seekers wanting to enjoy the mountain air, and the salty air as well.

Whilst salt is still transported out from the new mine,  it’s deep in the ground in the old mine where there are some amazingly large cavernous halls carved out of the salty subsoils for public use.

Complete with statues and displays, massive wall art and inscriptions, lit with various hues of the rainbow, this underground wonderland makes Slanic a destination not just for those needing some spa therapy.

At about 98km from Bucharest, and just 45km from Ploieşti, you can call for the Slănic maxi-taxi from Ploieşti if you need to, on +40 (743) 333 608 or e-mail Dorel Rizea for service.

The works of the sculptor Iustin Nastase, among which the busts of the Roman emperor Traian and the Dacian king Decebal and several other pieces presenting relevant elements of the existence of the Dacian and Roman peoples are exhibited in the "Genesis" room.

Development in the town of Slanic continues as it converts from industry to tourism, with the modernisation of the bath complex and beach facilities, terrace cafes, more pensions, cinema and parklands.

Getting to Slănic is fairly straightforward, with your choice of rail or road, both of which follow the Telejean river valley up to Vălenii de Munte, and then north-west to Slănic along the Vărbilău River, which flows into theTeleajen River.

Măneciu

Măneciu, or Măneciu-Ungureni, is in a basin of the same name, in the foothills to the southeast of the Ciucaş mountains in the Teleajen river valley.

South of Cheia, and north of Vălenii de Munte, Măneciu is about where the mountains begin in earnest on the road going north to Transilvania through the Bratocea pass.

Măneciu is also the railhead for the area, with the line from Ploieşti terminating at the Măneciu-Ungureni station (after passing the lower Măneciu-Pământeni station).

From here you can pick up maxi-taxis to your accommodation in Cheia, or your accommodation can arrange transport as well.

Măneciu itself is not exactly a tourist draw, although if hydroelectricity excites your neurons, you can marvel at the sweet little 10mW plant built in the twilight years of the communist reign. They dammed the Teleajen river of course to do this, contributing to hydroelectricity’s 22% contribution to Romania’s energy output!

Cheia and the Ciucaş Mountains

Because Romania is blessed with mountains, it’s really a shame that some perfectly spectacular areas get bypassed!

 But, in a nation of only 20 million people and being a third forested mountains, some areas like Cheia are bound to be missed by most!

But, luckily for you, the tourist seeking something different and something you can really call your own, Rest Romania is here to help! The Cheia mountain resort area is only 60km north of Ploieşti along the quieter route to Braşov along the Teleajen river valley.

The photographs you will take in these mountains will come out so other-worldly and striking that people will ask if you were in Peru or Burma.

The Ciucaş crest is a bit like the King's Rock (Piatra Craiului) mountains, with the ridge dotted with limestone conglomerates.  The fun and fantastic domes, towers, columns, mushrooms and toothy peaks of the Ciucaş mountains are easy to access and positively inspirational to behold.   The Red Mountains are covered in the red Rhododendron flower each springtime

On the other side of Cheia is the Zăganu mountains, comfortably bracketing the little town in it’s mountain home.

• Ciucaş Heights

• Bratocea pass (1263m)

• Tesla peak (1613m)

• Ciucaş peak (1954m)

• Valea Berii (the Beer Valley)

• Muntele Roşu (the Red Mountain)

• Gropşoare peak (1833m)

• Zăganu peak (1817m)

• Cheia resort (875m)

The Cheia Monastery

If you’re taking a break from the Ciucaş mountain scenery (which is hard to to!), stop in for some quiet contemplation and wonderment at man’s ingenuity of construction at the Cheia monastery near the southern entrance to the community.

The Cheia Monastery is home to some presumably happy little monks (being in such a lovely location), and the Trinity Church (Sfânta Trieme). On the right bank of the Tâmpa brook to the southeast of Cheia, it was founded in 1770.

Unfortunately for the nascent monastery, it was built on a major trade route going up into Transilvania, and in skirmishes between the locals and the ruling Ottoman Turks, it was raided by the Ottomans, was reconstructed and then burnt in a fire. The current brick church was finished in 1839 and has some great Gheorghe Tattarescu frescos (see Urlati below for more of his works).

Further south on the road to Vălenii de Munte is also the Suzana monastery.

Urlaţi

On the Wine Road

If you're heading towards Moldova, or just exploring the leafy Prahovan countryside along the wine road as part of the Dealu Mare viticultural district, a stop in at Urlaţi is a great spot to break your journey to Mizil or if you're going up to Vălenii de Munte even.

Urlaţi itself has all that a country town could need, with some charming little back streets and a quiet almost aristocratic feel.  

The Archangel's Church

Amongst the little country gems worth a visit here are, on the left bank of the Salty Cricov river is the Saint Mary Hermitage, with the creaking little church, dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel is made out of wood and rather looks like a sailing ship.

  Originally built near Reghin in 1731, and requesitioned by the Royal Family for Castle Bran in 1932, the little church never attained it's sacred role there, being replaced by Queen Marie with another royal chapel. 

Because of this, in the spring of 1956, the church was disassembled and transported to Cricov, in the same hallowed grounds with the ruins of the old stone church, which had been built there 400 years previously.   Enjoy some photos of the open porch, belfry, and the old stone cross, imported from Dobrogea and mounted on the marble alter.  You can also see some sweet icons depicting various miracles. 

The Bellu Manor House

The Bellu Manor House collection is in a strikingly graceful traditional Romanian manor house built in the 16th century by Baron Bellu.  It's a shining example of folk architecture from the mid 19th century.

The location is splendid and the Bellu family owned the house and filled it with pieces of culture, art objects, coins and books.  At the height of Romania's Golden Age in 1926, family patriarch Alexandru Bellu donated the entire domain to the Romanian Academy. 

The Bellu domain was rather like those of the Romanian royal household, including the main manor house, a hunting lodge, servants quarters, garage, a little bird house, park, a mews, hothouse for flowers, electrical generator, and even a chapel and vineyards. 

Alexandru Bellu was a man of culture, a solicitor (lawyer to Americans), and architect, amateur builder, numismatist, and passionate photographer.

His grandfather was from the town of Pella in Macedonia, and moved to Wallachia in 1780.  His father Ştefan married Elizei Ştirbei, the daughter of the Lord Barbu Ştirbei. 

The young Alexandru met Nicolae Grigorescu at his uncle's house, from whom he gained his love of photographing the same rural scenes the famous painter adored.

Preserved today, the stately old house has been restored many times, and is home to a great exhibition of decorative art objects including sculpted wood furniture, paintings, two icons, a bronze Venus de Milo statue, weapons, ceramics, porcelain, metal, Oriental art and a very interesting and surprisingly valuable library.

In addition to a rather nice Theodor Aman painting from 1858, the Old Begger, you can revel in the Man's Portrait by Pavel Dincovici (1824), and the 1900 Peasant Girl by Eugen Maximovici.  

The Bellu Manor House, 2 Orzoaia de Sus St.  9am - 5pm, Closed Mondays.  +40 (244) 271 721

The Jercălăi Monastery

Over 250 years old, the Jercalai Monastery and it's Golden Church has been declared a historic architectural monument. 

The two churches here, the Saint Nicholas and Saint Dumitru churches were built between 1759 and 1761 at the behest of the former local lord, Stan Urlateana and other contributors.

The monastery was mentioned in writings by Iorga, and you'll enjoy the Byzantine frescos inside, with more oil painting by Gheorghe Tattarescu in the Sainted Princes cathedral's iconostasis and ceiling.

Listed below are some local agents who can help you with bookings and organize local tours in the Prahova area.

Premier Breaza, Str. Caporal Dumitrache, nr.10A in Breaza

  FAX: +40 (244) 342220 

Tmt Tour, Bdul Independenţei, nr.4 in Plopeni

 +40 (244) 220819  FAX: +40 (244) 220819

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Geography

In many ways, County Prahova enjoys the best of what is Romanian. To be Romanian you must have both lofty peaks, rolling hills, and fertile plains, and Prahova has all these.

A full quarter of Prahova is classified as mountainous, and forty percent as hill country, with the remainder being the upper reaches of the sloping Wallachian plain.

Bordering County Prahova are the other Muntenian counties of Buzău in the east, Ialomiţa and Ilfov to the south, and Dâmboviţa to the west.  Across the mountain passes in the north is the Transilvania region and County Braşov.

With a total area of 4,716 km˛, County Prahova is split in approximately equal parts between the mountains, the hills and the upper reaches of the wide Wallachian plain. 

On the North side, there are mountains from the southern end of the Eastern Carpathians as well as the Bucegi Mountains the Eastern end of the Southern Carpathians group.  The two groups are separated by the Prahova River Valley. 

The Prahova river has it's headwaters in County Braşov near Predeal, and flows down the Prahova Valley, taking the waters of the neighbouring Doftana and Teleajen river valleys, draining 75% of County Prahova before emptying into the Ialomiţa river further south.   Eighty-eight percent of the Prahova River flows within the County of Prahova.

Economy

The area contains the main oil reserves in Romania having a long tradition in extracting and refining the oil.  The county is heavily industrialised, more than 115,000 people being involved in an industrial activity. 

It realises over 8% of the country's industrial production.  Some of the biggest international corporations like Coca Cola, Unilever, Interbrew, Michelin, Timken and others have invested heavily in the recent years. 

The predominant industries in County Prahova include the important oil industry, which accounts for half of the country's output.  Other industries include oil extracting equipment, the chemical industry, rubber manufacturing, mechanical components, food and beverages and textiles.  Agriculture in the county generally revolves around the the middle and southern parts in the foothills, low hills and plains, with viticulture (wines) and pomiculture (fruit orchards), making up nearly 4% of the country's total agricultural output. 

Population and Demography

Almost 5,000km2, Prahova’s population of 873,000 inhabitants makes it the densest and most urbanised area outside of the Bucharest metropolitan area.

Sizable population centres are distributed fairly evenly along the two main road axes from the main centre of Ploieşti (a quarter million people), along the Prahova River valley from the north, and from the main road to Moldova to the east. The remainder is found in rural communities along the Doftana and Teleajen river valleys, and in a broad swath along the southern border of the county.

Most of the county’s inhabitants work in general industry, with about a quarter in farming (pomiculture, grains, vines, root crops).

The service industry constitutes 13% of the working population, a figure up from 8% just 15 years ago, expected to rise even more dramatically with the tourism boom in the region.

The majority of the population are Romanians with small pockets of Rroma communities.

Transportation

County Prahova enjoys a better-than-most transportation network, thanks to the six rail lines leading from Ploieşti in all directions, and a similar road network.

Driving to County Prahova

You’re on one of the better national roads heading north from Bucharest to County Prahova on the DN1. The DN1 bypasses Ploieşti and runs up the Prahova river valley. Prahova also lucked out by having the alternative “loop” route to Braşov running through it as well, the less-travelled but well-maintained DN1A, which also runs north through Teleajen River valley.

Rail

The best trains in the country run through the length of Prahova between Braşov and Bucharest.

Ploieşti’s four train stations serve the Prahova Valley line going down to Bucharest from the West Ploieşti station, and lines to Târgovişte, Mizil and Moldova, and from the northern station, Slanic Prahova, and Vălenii de Munte.  See more in our Ploieşti Transportation section of the City Guide to Ploieşti.

Air

County Prahova is served by the Otopeni Airport to the north of Bucharest, just under an hour away by road from Ploieşti.

It’s possible that when the Ghimbav airport west of the city of Braşov is completed that some passenger traffic in the upper Prahova Valley might fly through there, but for the bulk of the county, Otopeni is the closest.

In a recent independent review of Romanian tourism websites, Rest Romania was found to have the highest standard of English aimed at the educated and well-travelled American tourist.

Towns

County Prahova features the two cities of Ploieşti and Câmpina, along with a dozen other smaller towns, from Azuga, Buşteni, and Sinaia, in the mountains, to Băicoi, Boldeşti-Scăeni, Breaza, Comarnic, Mizil, Plopeni, Slânic, Urlaţi, and Vălenii de Munte.  The 89 communes include Brebu, Cornu, Bucov, Pietriceaua, Proviţa de Jos, Măgureni, Măneşti, and Banesti.

Communications

 Dialling County Prahova

All of the phone numbers for County Prahova start with (244) or (344), depending on whether the service is through the old state-run operator RomTelecom, or from one of the newer entrants into the market in Romania.

Dialling from outside Romania to anywhere in County Prahova, you must remove any leading zero from the county code portion of the phone number, so that (0244) becomes (244).  

Dialling a mobile number, or to a Zapp company service, you do the same, dropping the zero from the (07XX) part of the number, to make it (7XX).   Both landlines and mobiles have 6 digits following the initial county code. 

 For full dialling information and a chart of county codes, see our Dialling Romania section here

Wireless in Prahova

Both Sinaia and Ploiesti offer bandwidth free of wires at two rather interesting locations.   We assume there must be others in Prahova somewhere, so if you know, please let us and everyone else know!  Thanks!

ProSmile Medical Centre, 81A Bobălna Street in Ploieşti  Try not to alarm anyone as you sit there with your laptop and take-away latte.   +40 (722) 720 447

MOTO Store ATVs and Scooters, Calea Bucureşti, nr. 66A in Sinaia  Rent a scooter after you log on to the free wi-fi.  The garage is at Piatra Arsa 1 if you need your ATV looked at.   YAHOO!  +40 (244) 312 392 or +40 (344) 814 220

PH is how car license plates start in County Prahova

Lodging

Prahova accommodates over 11,000 tourists across 22 hotels, 9 motels, 17 guesthouses, 19 farmstays and 159 villas, with an annual capacity of 780,000 tourists.

Peasant Lodging for Tourists

Out of all the country guesthouses in the Doftana Valley area, 53 could be termed as tourist guesthouses (pensiuni turistice), able to accommodate 400 guests. 

Listed below are some local hotels, guesthouses (B&Bs) and other accommodation in the Prahova area.

Motel Hanul Românesc, DN1 Km 82 in Băicoi

The ideal place for a stopover in your way!

244 369990  

Motel Paralela 45, DN1 Km 80 in Băicoi

It is acceptable especially if you are tired from the trip.

244 369999

Motel International Recola, DN1 90 bis in Băneşti

A stopover is welcome, although the services are not that high.

Well-Positioned Prahova

Prahova has both the wondrous blessings of natural riches and a geographic position which has made it the object of envy.

 At the crossroads of several trade routes, as mountain forests and grasslands yield to extended rolling foothills and onto the wide Wallachian Plains, Prahova’s riches were also a curse.

Warring tribes and armies poured through the two main passes at Predea and Cheia from time to time, with clashes between the Turks, the Hungarians, the Austrians, and the Germans again, and again, and again.

Prince Michael the Brave got an early foothold in Prahova, building fortifications in the then market town of Ploieşti where the foothills met the plains on the main lateral trade route across the skirt of the Carpathians.

Several archeological finds at Mizil, Ciorani, south-east of Ploieşti and elsewhere in County Prahova have confirmed that man has lived here from as long as man has been in Europe.

Trade centres developed organically across Prahova, most of them being at the intersection of the north-south routes coming from the mountains, where they crossed the paths and roads going east to west across the plains, usually further down the foothills.

Micro Climates and More!

Prahova has benefitted from alluvial soils and protected growing locations afforded by the many fingers of tributaries running into the five main river valleys running across the county.

Fruit trees in particular were favourite early crops, growing in shallow depressions formed after the glaciers retreated.

The mild little pockets created some fairly magical microclimates, which sustained generations of Romanians through the centuries as the people clung to their protected Prahovan valleys as peoples from many civilisations swept by on the fertile plains below.

In addition to above-ground riches, Prahova’s modern wealth was concealed in the folds of the rock strata. Oil was discovered and 275 tons of crude was produced and refined at the Mehedinteanu refinery, the first in the world to record and refine the dark black gold.

 See our Ploieşti page for more information on oil in Ploieşti. With oil comes additional reserves in natural gas and coal, making Prahova a major energy supplier to the nation (in addition to Romania’s 22% hydroelectric generation, some of which comes from the Teleajen river).

The Smart Choice!

Romania’s Boyar class, aristocracy and great artists, from historian and Prime Minister Nicolae Iorga, to painter Grigorescu, chose Prahova for their summer homes and had known the charms of Prahova for centuries.

But it was a German prince, Karl Eitel, who cemented Prahova’s destiny as the home of Romania’s royal family. It was the forests and mountains around the Sinaia monastery one morning which inspired Romania’s future King Carol I to build today’s Royal Domain there.

As mentioned above, the wars were never pleasant for Prahova, with her oil riches and strategic location. After the fall of Braşov in 1916, the Kaiser’s army (who was a cousin to Romania’s Queen Marie at the time), poured down the Prahova valley eventually taking Bucharest and forcing the court and government to Iaşi.

Low-level bombing runs during WWII targeted the Nazi-controlled oil refineries and the Germans destroyed all in their wake as they retreated in 1944 as the Russians advanced.

Communist days saw the increased industrialisation of Ploieşti, which remains to this day the second-most industralised city in Romania after Bucharest. The 1989 Revolution benefitted Prahova in the tourist sector, with masses of German skiers discovering the relatively cheaper slopes, although factory closures kept the county economy far from buoyant until the recovery of the late 1990s. 

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