From Călineşti a road leads 8km to Sârbi, inhabited since 1402. Its two churches are built from oak. The Josani church (Sârbi Lower-Dweller Church; Sârbi), the first on the right and dating from 1665, has two icons by Radu Munteanu. The Susani church (Sârbi Upper-Dweller Church; Sârbi) (1667) is at the other end of the village and 100m off the main road. Below this church there's a collection of buildings associated with traditional industry that used the waters of the Cosău River for power: a flour mill, a distillery and a fulling mill. The last of these is something like a natural 'laundrette’ and used to clean and prepare wool for processing into clothing and blankets.
Budeşti, 5km to the south, is a larger village of intricately carved wooden gates and cosy cottages stacked with firewood. There are a couple of shops scattered about and a pension. The village also has one of the most beautiful (and largest) wooden churches in Maramureş. Budeşti Josani church, built in 1643 and measuring 18m by 8m, features four small turrets surrounding the bell tower. Among the church’s wooden and glass icons is a prized 18th-century painting of the Last Judgment.
4Sleeping & Eating
Private rooms and homestays are fairly plentiful here; just look for signs offering camere (rooms) or cazare (accommodation). For pensions check out www.lapensiuni.ro.
Pensiunea MaraPENSION$
(%0749-459 331; www.pensiuneamaradesesti.ro; Deseşti 322; s/d from 100/140 lei; pW)
In the heart of Deseşti village, hard by the Mara River and less than a kilometre from the village's wooden church, this modern pensiune has five rooms with balconies, private bathrooms and satellite TV, as well as an on-site restaurant. The surrounding garden is a delight.
Păstrăvăria Alex Happy FishSEAFOOD$
(Alex Happy Fish Trout Restaurant; %0741-662 269, 0262-372 686; off Hwy 18, Mara; mains from 10 lei; h24hr)
This local institution just off Hwy 18 in the picturesque village of Mara serves fresher-than-fresh trout pulled straight out of the lake. It's spread over a large, leafy and hilly tract of land, with ponds, waterfalls and various cabanas for dining almost alfresco. Worth a stop to or from Baia Mare, 40km to the southwest.
8Getting There & Away
Infrequent buses link Baia Mare with some of the outlying villages, including Mara, Călineşti and Budeşti up to five times a day between 6am and 7pm.
Breb
Just off the road linking Budeşti and Hwy 18 between Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmaţiei, rustic Breb is an isolated village replete with ancient wooden houses and a 16th-century church. The village and surrounds are home to a panoply of traditional craftspeople, including the famous woodcarver Patru Pop, who welcome visitors to watch them while they work.
4Sleeping & Eating
Breb features a charming traditional guesthouse with separate cottages, a comfortable pensiune and even a camping ground.
Pensiunea LuciaPENSION$
(%0752-527 485, 0262-374 584; www.pensiunealucia.com; Breb 285; per person B&B/half-board 55/90 lei; pW)
This lovely pensiune has two rooms in an old traditional house with embroidered pillows, handwoven rugs and coffered wooden ceiling, and two more rooms in a newer neighbouring building; each pair share a bathroom. Meals served here – considered the best in Breb – are prepared with all-organic produce from the family farm.
Owner Ion is a guide and eco-enthusiast who will take you hiking and trekking.
Babou Maramureș Campsite & HostelHOSTEL, CAMPGROUND$
(%0747-687 747; www.baboumaramures.com; Breb 149; camping adult/child 25/10 lei, dm 50 lei; hApr-Oct; pW)S
Babou's sits in glorious hammock-strung meadowland with views of Ukraine. There's a pine-accented hostel with a six-bed dorm, an up-to-date kitchen and communal area, and a huge garden to pitch in (tent to rent: 75 lei). Extremely clean and efficiently run by affable Dutch couple Matthijs and Eveline.
oVillage HotelGUESTHOUSE$$
(%0725-141 545; www.villagehotelmaramures.com; Breb; d/tw/q €35/40/45, cottage €50-75; pW)S
Run by a charming English couple, Duncan and Penelope, this idyllic property has three rooms in the main farmhouse and three traditionally styled cottages with daub-and-wattle walls, wood-beamed rooms, log burners, immaculate kitchens and bedrooms carpeted with sheepskin rugs.
Breakfast is self-serve, with milk delivered daily along with cheese and freshly baked bread, while dinner (30 lei) is cooked around the open outdoor barbecue or at nearby farmhouses; mixing with locals is not just encouraged but mandatory in these parts. Rustic chic gets no better.
A font of local information and lore, Duncan can organise treks in the mountains, visits to traditional workshops, and excursions farther afield in Maramureș and Transylvania. As a professional photographer, his speciality is photography tours (see www.photographytoursromania.com).
8Getting There & Away
A half-dozen buses link Breb with Baia Mare daily (with the last one leaving Baia Mare at 5pm) and there are a couple of regular minibuses to/from Sighetu Marmaţiei. The Village Hotel in Breb can organise transport to/from Sighetu Marmaţiei (€15) and Baia Mare (€30).
Săpânţa
Săpânţa, 18km northwest of Sighetu Marmaţiei, exudes pastoral charm with vividly hued rugs hanging over walls, fields dotted with hayricks, and horses and carts trundling at a snail's pace. The main draw of the village, however, is its unique Merry Cemetery: the church graveyard famous for the colourfully painted wooden crosses that adorn its tombstones. The crosses attract busloads of visitors who marvel at the gentle humour that created them and, curiously, villagers seem unfazed by the daily circus. Outside the church, a gauntlet of souvenir stalls hawk embroidered tablecloths, carved gewgaws and woven rugs.
Five hundred metres down a paved road to the right, just before you reach the centre of the village, is the Săpânţa-Peri Monastery (Mănăstirea Săpânţa-Peri), whose adjoining wooden church claims to be the tallest wooden structure in Europe (75m).
MERRY CEMETERY
Săpânţa’s Merry Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel; 5 lei; h8am-6pm) was the creation of Ioan Stan Pătraş, a simple wood sculptor who, in 1935, started carving crosses to mark graves in the old church cemetery. He painted each cross in blue – the traditional colour of hope and freedom – and on top of each he inscribed a witty epitaph to the deceased.
Every cross tells a different story, and the painted pictures and inscriptions illustrate a wealth of traditional occupations: shepherds tend their sheep, mothers cook for their families, barbers cut hair and weavers bend over looms.
Pătraş carved and painted his own cross, complete with a portrait of himself. His grave is directly opposite the main entrance to the old church. Since Pătraş’ death his former house and studio have been converted into a fascinating museum (Casa Memorială Ioan Stan Pătraş; Săpânţa 380; adult/child 4/2 lei; h7am-8pm). It’s a short detour 400m to the right of the cemetery entrance.
4Sleeping & Eating
Pensiunea IleanaPENSION$
(%0262-372 137, 0745-491 756; www.sapantamaramures.ro/pensiuni/pensiuneaileana; s/d 100/130 lei; pW)
With its five large and bright traditional rooms nestled round a courtyard and its garden stacked with freshly sheared wool, this place is old-school Maramureş. Ileana, the eponymous hostess, has her own weaving workshop where you can watch her at work. The pensiune is just opposite the Merry Cemetery's main entrance.
Casa Ana & Săpânţa CampingPENSION, CAMPGROUND$
(%0740-593 380; www.sapantamaramures.ro/pensiuni/camping-poieni-casa-ana; tent/campervan/d 30/40/100 lei; W)
Located 3km south of Săpânţa village, this pension and campsite is idyllically positioned by a stream, and has a restaurant in the main house. Guests can use the clay oven too. The pensiune has four rooms. Shared showers and WC.
8Getting There & Away
From Sighetu Marmaţiei two or three buses a day go to Săpânţa (one in the morning and one or two in the afternoon, weekdays only, 5 lei), but with no fixed-time return bus.
The Iza Valley (Valea Izei) follows the Iza River southeastward from Sighetu Marmaţiei to Moisei. A tight-knit procession of quintessentially Maramureş peasant villages nestles in the valley, almost all featuring the region’s famed elaborately carved wooden gates and tall wooden churches.
SLEEPING IN THE IZA VALLEY
Botiza is particularly rich in homestays. Alternatively, both www.lapensiuni.ro and www.ruraltourism.ro list an array of accommodation options. Be on the lookout for signs offering camere (rooms) or cazare (accommodation). Note: if you’re driving, phone ahead to get precise directions. And if arriving by bus or train in Sighetu Marmaţiei, ask the owner to pick you up at the station.
Vadu Izei
Vadu Izei lies at the confluence of the Iza and Mara Rivers, 7km southeast of Sighetu Marmaţiei. An old wooden house dating to 1750 next to the church in the centre forms part of the Village Museum in Sighetu Marmaţiei.
4Sleeping & Eating
oCasa MunteanPENSION$
(%0766-755 267; www.casamuntean.ro; Vadu Izei 505; s/d without bathroom 40/80 lei; niW)
Five colourful rooms (only one with private bathroom) are enlivened by richly coloured rugs, wooden ceilings and wall hangings, as well as cable TV. Breakfast/dinner is an additional 15/25 lei. Owner Florin can take you on a guided tour (from 135 lei per person) to local wooden churches and the Merry Cemetery.
Casa Muntean also hires bikes (25 lei per day) and can organise four-hour horse-and-cart trips (100 lei per person). The owners will pick you up at Sighet station.
Pensiunea Teodora TelepteanPENSION$
(%0742-492 240; www.pensiuneateleptean.ro; Vadi Izei 506; s/d 100/120 lei; pW)
Some 10 rooms with private bathrooms in a pretty all-wooden building. Rooms are spacious and decorated with antique armoires, wood-raftered ceilings and TVs. Take breakfast (15 lei) or dinner (30 lei) in the large dining room.
8Information
Guide and glass-painter Ioan Borlean (%0728-316 425, 0742-749 608) functions as a quasi-official source of tourist information. Give him a call if you need help.
Bârsana
From Vadu Izei you can continue for 13km through Onceşti to the village of Bârsana, dating back to the 14th century.
1Sights
Bârsana MonasteryMONASTERY
(Mănăstirea Bârsana; %0262-331 101; www.manastireabarsana.ro)
This enormous all-wooden Orthodox monastic complex counts some 10 massive buildings atop a steep hill, including a beautiful church built in 1993, and is a popular Maramureş pilgrimage site. Check out the small museum with icons dating back to the 16th century.
The 10.45am Sunday service is a magical experience among the rolling hills and wildflowers, and on 30 June the monastery celebrates the feast of the 12 Apostles. Some nine nuns and a priest reside here.
BârsanArtARTS CENTRE
(%0262-331 015, 0740-490 152; http://barsanart.ro; Bârsana 524; h9am-8pm)
Not a gallery as such but a garden workshop, this place is operated by master artisan Ioan Bârsan, who whittles wood and produces everything from life-size bears to the ubiquitous carved wooden entrance gates. Definitely worth a stop.
Bârsana ChurchCHURCH
(%0262-331 316, 0760-863 342; h9am-4pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun)
Bârsana's Unesco-listed wooden church, which contains interior paintings by local masters Hodor Toador and Ion Plohod, dates to 1720. It is signposted 700m up the hill to the north from the centre of the village.
4Sleeping
Bârsana has a couple of comfortable pensions and even a large campsite.
Camping BradovaCAMPGROUND$
(%0262-331 200, 0746-993 061; http://camping-bradova.ro; Bradova 803; tent/campervan 30/40 lei, cottage from 50 lei)
This large campsite with an impressive carved wooden entrance gate is a couple of kilometres up the hill from Bârsana's church and offers dramatic views over the rolling countryside. Stilted wooden cottages for two are also available here, and there's a restaurant on-site.
Pensiunea Fratii PascaPENSION$
(%0762-609 352; www.fratiipasca.ro; Str Principala 1338a; r without/with bath from 60/70 lei; pW)
Situated 2km outside of Bârsana on the road to Călineşti is this two-part pension offering 13 cosy rooms with driftwood furniture, TV, clean linen, en suite and bright, fresh walls. Breakfast (15 lei) and dinner (30 lei) available.
Botiza
From Şieu you can take the turn-off to the right (Hwy 171A) for the sleepy village of Botiza, one of the prettiest in all of Maramureş and site of the some of the region’s best homestays. Botiza’s Unesco-listed old wooden church (%0262-211 947; h10am-4pm Tue-Sun), built in Vișeu de Jos in 1690 and moved here more than two centuries later, is overshadowed by the giant new church, constructed in 1974 to serve the Orthodox faithful.
The 9am Sunday service is the major event of the week in Botiza. The entire village flocks to the church to partake in the religious activities, which continue well into the afternoon.
4Sleeping
Casa BerbecaruPENSION$
(%0723-775 848; http://ruralturism.ro/maram/pensmar/botiza/berbecaru%20victoria/html/berbecaruen.html; Botiza 743; r from 80 lei)
Four spick-and-span rooms are available at this pension, run by the warm, French-speaking Victoria. Better still are the two rooms in the 19th-century wooden house just opposite, where you can stay in simple, cosy cells that feel like being in a ship's cabin. There's a shop here selling Victoria's beautifully designed, hand-woven rugs.
George IurcaPENSION$
(%0722-942 140; [email protected]; Botiza 742; r per person from €15; iW)
George is a guide licensed to conduct tours throughout Romania. He rents out a couple of clean, comfortable rooms as well as mountain bikes (25 lei per day) and vehicles with a driver-guide (€80 to €100 per day for a group). You’ll find his house two doors to the right of Botiza's new church.
Poienile Izei
From Botiza an unmade road leads northwest to Poienile Izei, home of a church with some of the most dramatic frescoes of hell you're likely to see. The early-17th-century church's frescoes eerily depict infernal visions of torments inflicted by the devil on sinners.
Three kilometres further north along a gravel road is the village of Glod, the birthplace of the popular Maramureş folk-singing duo Fratii Petreuş (Petreuş Brothers).
4Sleeping & Eating
La DomniţaPENSION$
(%0724-175 757; [email protected]; Poienile Izie 138; d from 50 lei)
This delightful pensiune run by French-speaking Ilies has eight rooms (four with en suite bathroom) and a seven-bed dorm in the main building, and five chalets in the back of an enormous garden. Some of the best food in the area is served here in La Domniţa's restaurant, with produce coming directly from the back garden.
Breakfast/lunch/dinner costs 15/20/25 lei.
Ieud
Packed with traditional houses and pensioners in traditional garb, this fervently Orthodox village (8km off the road south from Şieu) has as its main draw its 17th-century wooden Orthodox church (adult/child 4/2 lei; h10am-4pm Tue-Sun). Under its rooftop was found the Ieud Codex, a document dating from 1391–92 considered to be the oldest example of written Romanian. Today it is kept in the archives of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest.
Ieud’s other wooden church, now Graeco-Catholic in denomination, was built in 1717. The church, at the southern end of the village, is unique to the region as it has no porch. It houses one of the largest collections of icons on glass found in Maramureş. Cross the nearby bridge to the modest Ethnographic Museum (Muzeul Etnografic; adult/child 5/2 lei; h8am-noon & 1-8pm) contained in two traditional Maramureș cottages.
4Sleeping & Eating
Meals are available at Pensiunea Chindris and Pensiunea Ilea.
Pensiunea IleaPENSION$
(%0747-940 260; www.cazarelapensiune.ro/ieud/cazare-ieud/pensiunea-ilea-804; Ieud 333; r per person incl breakfast/half-b
oard €15/20; pW)
This wooden pensiune (found at the base of a hill at the end of a lane) is signed 1km out of town, and has four simple rooms, two with en suite bathroom. The friendly owner can arrange to pick you up in Sighetu Marmaţiei (55 lei) or Baia Mare (175 lei).
Pensiunea ChindrisPENSION$
(%0262-336 197, 0743-811 077; www.ruraltourism.ro/maram/pensmar/ieud/ChindrisVasile/html/chindrisro.html; Ieud 201; r per person incl breakfast/half-board €17/28; p)
The three rooms with shared bathroom are clean and homely in these central digs. The husband-and-wife team can drive you around. Meals cost 28 lei.
8Getting There & Away
The region is best explored by car, heading south out of Sighetu Marmaţiei along the main road (Hwy 18) to Baia Mare and then bearing left in Vadu Izei, 7km southeast of Sighetu Marmaţiei along a quieter road (Hwy 186) in the direction of Bârsana. Three minibuses run along this road daily, serving Vadu Izei, Bârsana, Poienile Izei, Botiza and Ieud.
Lonely Planet Romania & Bulgaria Page 32