Rewilding Adventure in Romania's Tarcu Mountains

Had a fantastic time on this trip. Four days of the gorgeous Romanian countryside and mountains trying to track wildlife whilst indulging in local food, wine and beer with interesting people. Would highly recommend to everyone.

Matei was a knowledgeable guide, expert wildlife tracker, personable and considerate. The accommodations were very comfortable and the food all locally sourced hearty and tasty, particularly the lamb stew. The hiking allowed us to experience Romanian wilderness areas that the average tourist doesn’t have the opportunity to venture to. We highly recommend the experience.

We had a wonderful time on this holiday. A great group which made a massive contribution, the food and accommodation were wonderful and I do like the Romanian people, very friendly people. We saw Bison, A bear and would you believe a wolf. Very unusual we are told.

My husband and I loved this trip. We were lucky enough to see a bison and calf within about half an hour of setting out on the first day. We saw chamois with a kid, a roe deer, and on the last night a bear with two cubs. Some people in our group saw boars too. We enjoyed learning to identify tracks in the forest and the hikes were interesting every day. We had time for naps during picnics. Some of the hikes I’d say were a bit more than moderate - either off trail or on steep terrain. So best to bring hiking poles if you struggle with this. But we took it slow so weren’t rushed. Matei, the guide, is local and knows the area very well. He’s worked with the bisons since they were first introduced and his passion for wildlife is contagious. We learnt so much from spending time with him. The hosts at WeWilder and the other places we stayed made us feel really at home. The food was really good. lots of local produce. Best tomatoes ever. Great cheese and salami. We stayed in the area a couple of extra days in a peaceful rural house which gave us the opportunity to visit the village and do a bit more walking. We saw red deer and a marten in the nearby woods. Overall, this is a fantastic way to see off-the-beaten-tourist-track rural Romania and to see wildlife. We 100% recommend this trip.

Wow. Everything exceeded my expectations. From our incredible host Matei who was an expert in all things tracking to the beautiful accommodation we stayed in to the fun we all had tracking (and finding!) the bison, bears and dears. The trip opened my eyes to rewilding efforts of WWF and all the amazing people involved. 100% recommend. I now can't wait for my next MBA trip!

Great chance to (try and) see real wild bison. They are elusive creatures, but that's half the fun trying to find them. You'll also look for chamois, (even more elusive!), and bears. Great guide, and friendly people involved all through.

My first solo trip and the perfect adventure for a wildlife and nature loving woman in her fifties. The vegetarian food was wonderful and the local hosts generous and friendly. Matei, our guide, made sure we felt the presence of the bison (even though we didn't see them) by showing us how their interactions nurture the forest, from frogs and insects to trees and flowers. Seeing bears on the final night brought tears to a few eyes and joy to all of our hearts. I adored this trip and fell in love with Romania.

A really enjoyable adventure. Very knowledgeable and friendly guides and staff, fantastic scenery, lovely food, great accommodation, lovely company with great discussions along the way, Highly recommended this adventure to all.

I knew this would be a good trip from the previous reviews, and the ones which said "it doesn't even matter if you see bison" were absolutely correct. There's just nothing like this, this remoteness in Europe is just so special and unusual. We didn't see any bison on our trip, though we did get close enough to hear them running away! And while I would have loved to see them - you get more and more determined to see them the harder you work for them, at the start I didn't mind at all, after 5 hours trekking through the mountains, I really wanted to! We got obsessed, we would wake up dreaming of bison. I'm now sat at home in London itching to head out and search some more :D But the landscapes and environments are just so special and beautiful that they're more than enough by themselves. Heaven must look like a mountain meadow in a Carpathian forest in June. The accommodations were all great, the huts by Armenis are new with good showers. The campsite got chilly at night, and we were higher up so it went from high 20s to really quite cold, I slept in a fleece, coat and woolly hat. So no matter how hot it is in the day, be warned you'll need warm clothes at night in the tent. The food was incredible. That venison salami is in my top three meals ever. I'll spend my life searching for as good salami as that. I don't even like salami normally. The trip is worth it just for the food. Seriously. We had a couple of veggies in the group and they were served very well too. The hiking - this was definitely a work out, but, very doable. It's not like normal hiking where it's about eating up the miles. We went very slowly, looking for signs, trying to be quiet (failing a lot of the time haha) and we had lots of rest breaks and even naps :D Great naps in the meadows and forests. 10/10 napping opportunities. At times you're walking on barely-there paths on vertiginous hillsides, or bushwhacking through thick vegetation, with very step ascents and descents. It's a great adventure and exploration, without being too arduous. I have a fatigue condition so was worried about being fit enough for it, but you go so steadily that it was very doable. Our longest day we did about 8 miles, 13km, but slowly. We saw all sorts of evidence of animals, wolf, jackal, bear and badger tracks, we came close to bison a couple of times, we would miss them by minutes! Heard a roe deer alarm call. The Merlin bird app recorded all sorts of birds, flycatchers, tree creepers, nuthatches, gold crests, chiffchaffs, we photographed a lesser spotted woodpecker. We found a slow worm that was completely unbothered by us tramping past. And on the last night, in the hide, as the light dimmed in the forest, as we had just a few minutes left until we had to end our adventure, a mother bear with a two year old cub came bounding into the clearing. They were all power and energy, so beautiful. From the hide you felt safe, but could still feel the thrill of being so close to a predator. They were very skittish and wary, especially the baby. And when they left after about 15 minutes, it took just a few steps for them to vanish into the forest and you'd never know they were there. And finally all the people were wonderful, our hosts at the Armenis house were so kind, and Matei our main guide was just great, he did a great job looking after us. And Petrov our special Chamois guide, shoutout to him. Matei carried a good camera too, and shared his photos with us. My only thing I would change? I wish I'd splashed out on thermal binoculars to scan the forest at night!

This was a truly unique and unforgettable trip. We hiked through wild landscapes, tracked and found bison in their natural habit - an awe inspiring moment. Matei, our guide was excellent - informative, passionate, and full of insight about the rewilding project and the local ecosystem. A perfect mix of adventure and learning. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to reconnect with nature.