Today we are going to talk to you about an itinerary so that you can enjoy a day in contact with nature and enjoying it less than an hour and a half by car from Székelykeresztúr.

Our day starts at 8:00 and we go to the Varsag waterfall, we have 1 hour and 15 minutes by car.

B. Csorgókő Waterfall from Vărșag

Views from the top of the waterfall

In the Vărşag forest, along the Fântâna Mare brook, is the Vărşag waterfall. Fueled by 7 springs, the stream’s waters drop from a height of 7 meters, forming a beautiful two-step cascade. From here, it goes to Târnava Mare.

Views from the front of the waterfall

After knowing the place and having a snack in the store in the parking lot, where they sell some delicious türtöskalács, a crunchy Hungarian sweet. We continue on our way for about 22 minutes, to make a stop at Lake Zetea.

C. A zeteváraljai víztározó

Zetea is the only artificial lake in the upper Târnava Mare area. The work on the dam began in 1976, and finished only in 1992. The goal of the dam was to protect against floods and to control the level of the river. The dam protects from floods the localities in the Târnava Mare valley, and in case of drought ensures the normal flow of water.

At first, the fauna was made of migratory fish from the brooks. The most significant quantity is the common chub, followed by trout. The lake was populated with other smaller species, such as belica, spirlin, common bleak, Romanian barbel, but the fish fauna was also enriched with Prussian carp, common carp, zander, pike, nase, common bream, burbot, and even perch. You can fish both from the shore and from the boat, which are mainly used by fishermen who use spinners or fly fishing.

Views from the northeast, near the dam

When we arrived the lake looked completely frozen, even though we did not dare to walk on top of it. We continue for another 20 minutes to carry out the first sporting activity of the day at the Kecskevész ferrata.

D. Kecskevész – Via ferrata

Austria and Italy have a long tradition and enormous popularity in the so-called klettersteig, or via ferrata routes, i.e. ironed rock climbing trails. Translating the German and Italian names into Hungarian, we named the built rock climbing paths an ironed climbing trail.

In Szeklerland, in the summer of 2012, the first such climbing trail was built on the rock called Harghita Kecskevész in Madarasi.

Its use is open and free, everyone can use it at their own risk. However, climbing is not recommended (or only under the supervision of an expert adult) for children under the age of 14 and less than 150 cm.

According to the unanimous opinion of experienced climbers and novice “kocaturists”, the beauty of climbing via ferrata lies in the fact that in addition to the magnificent sight unfolding from the rocks, hikers can experience the experiences of professional rock climbers without serious climbing experience. On the rock, in addition to performing serious exercise, one must overcome one’s fears and spatiality, and completing a multifaceted task will enrich him with an boundless experience of success. The experience of breathtaking depth and height provides an experience of a lifetime.

Pedro passing the carabiner trought “the life cable”, to continue progressing in copmplete safety

For this activity we must have a helmet, harness, heatsink, hiking boots and a safety carabiner. It took us an hour to do the full tour, then we replaced our bottles with water from a fountain that is near where we parked and we headed for another 15 minutes following the road to get to the ski area.

E. Ski resort Madarasi Harghita

Neza performing a turn with the skies

 At Madaraș you can ski on 5 slopes with different difficulty levels, served by three ski-lifts:

1. Beginners (Súgó Öcsike) – light, 100 m, served by the ski lift
2. Blue slope (Kicsi Mihály or Mihai Mic) – easy, 1800 m, served by ski lift
3. Red (Súgó) – medium, 1500 m, served by ski lift
4. The black slope (Nagy Mihály or Mihai Mare) – difficult, 600 m, served by ski lift 5. Extreme (Hadak Útja) – difficult, 700 m, served by ski lift.

Pedro going up the ski slopes

The prices are around 50 lei for renting the equipment either skies or snowboard, for the pass   costs 70 lei all day, after spending more than four hours, you can also hire a teacher but for us it was not necessary because we had the help of our volunteer Neza, who is an expert and a very good teacher. We stayed until closing time, which is at 4:00 p.m., ate and rested to continue until our last stop.

F. A Madarasi-Hargita, a székelyek Szent Hegye.

Views from the top of Madarasi Harghita at 1801 meters above sea level

The peak is about an hour’s walk from the shelter. There is no steep section, you can get up with a medium or rather easy walk, with a slight ascent. Be sure to embark on the tour if the weather allows, because it is a must-see. We also constantly stop on the road to the top, admiring the gradually unfolding panorama. Arriving at the top, the sight is extraordinary, almost “the whole of Transylvania” lies at our feet. The almost unreal panorama cannot be forgotten. Walking around the hilltop, another feeling overpowers one… The mystical atmosphere of the place is enhanced by the small and large stone mounds and stone inscriptions scattered on the roof, as well as the crosses and headstones. We may not be able to articulate it, but anyone who has been here once will surely understand why this place is sacred to the Szeklers.

At the top there is also the monument of the Turul bird, according to Hungarian mythology, the Turul was the Messenger between the godos and humans, the guardian of order and balance in the universe

It is a truly necessary place to visit, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We arrived at the car park after half an hour of walking and returned to Székelykeresztúr after an hour and a half on the road.

You also have the option of doing it in two or three days and skiing more days, since it has many accommodations.

To finish we leave you a map with the location of the places and the distance between each of them, we hope you liked it.

Link: Discover Harghita – https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10Qe8fr5oB9uUZ-NiqhLP3Jrah9i9pf7L&usp=sharing

Sources:

https://visitharghita.com/en

http://madarasihargita.ro/tours

https://m.erdelyivendeghazak.ro/hu