The vampire Dracula was a fictional character invented by the novelist Bram Stoker. The name Dracula is derived from Count Dracul, the title of Vlad Tepeş, a real Transylvanian nobleman know for fighting the Turks and for impaling his enemies. The Castle at Bran has no connection to Vlad Tepeş, nor does it match the description of Dracula's Castle in the novel.
Not letting facts get in the way of a good story, the authorities in Bran, southwest of Braşov, declared their Castle to be Dracula's Castle in a bid to encourage tourism. It worked; tourists flock to the town, which is filled with Dracula themed shops, restaurants, attractions, and even a roller coaster.
We came to Bran to hike the ridge trail from here to Zărneşti, a nearby town from which a train goes back to Braşov. The trails begins steeply, rising 1,000 feet in the first mile. Open meadows at the first summit offer fine views to the west. A German couple was climbing here with a bear bell (1). I downloaded a bear bell app to simulate the sound and warn bears of our presence (2). A nice walk through a stand of birch along the ridge soon lead to the first col; the gentle descent led to a meadow and an abandoned shepherd's hut.
Ascending the second summit (Măgura Mică) offered further views west and a variety of Alpine wild flowers. Approaching the wooded summit, wild raspberries in the transition zone from meadow to forest were small and tasty, but warm in the sun.
The descent to the second col was steeper and a bit rocky toward the bottom. A man and boy were setting out down the ridge on a horse from a stable here. A first glimpse of our destination, Zărneşti, from this second col revealed a long way still to go.
The entrance to the woods from this col was somewhat overgrown, but white/red/white blazes soon confirmed our navigation. It was a long climb (up 900 feet in about a mile) through the woods from the second col to the high point of the ridge at the summit of Vârful Mâgure Mare. Just at the summit, we heard frantic bird calls down the west side of the mountain, and what might have been the roar of a bear far below.
Just after the summit, the trail entered a rocky meadow with cliffs on the side where we stopped for lunch. There were expansive views to the east to Zărneşti and north to the high peaks of the Piatra Craiului National Park. After seeing no one for the past few miles, we were pleased to see a man sitting on the rocks here. He was a guide leading a group of Czech hikers south to Bran; the group was in the shade nearby.
The descent to the third col was very steep, descending 325 feet in less than 2/10 of a mile, including a maximum grade of 61°. There were a few paths intersecting at the col meadow. Asking a group coming from the direction of Zărneşti whether that was the path down, they shrugged their shoulders and said they were kind of lost.
The trail down from the meadow was easier to see from a distance than up close, and the profile of the land was right. So we began the steep descent toward Zărneşti, soon moderated by a series of long switchbacks. Thunder began to rumble, and we were glad to be off the ridge.
Walking through lanes past country houses, we reached to road to Zărneşti. Lightning was striking the nearby hills and rain was visible in the high peaks of the Carpathians to the south. Reaching the town, we found the station. A train was leaving for Braşov in 30 minutes. We covered the 27 km to Braşov in about 65 minutes, an average speed of almost 16 MPH.
The hike overall was 7.5 miles, 2,140 feet of elevation gain, 2,313 foot descent (Zărneşti is at a lower elevation than Bran).
We got in a taxi at the station (3). "Fixed price of only 50 lei, no meter." We got out of the taxi, as the metered fare is about 20 lei. The cabbie began to shout that my wife had hurt his car by slamming the door getting out (which she didn't). We walked away; the cabbie unhappy that neither of his scams had worked (4).
After cleaning up from the hike, we walked down to the historic town center for a nightcap. Thus also meant we had to haul ourselves 400 feet back up to the hotel.
(1) Bears generally prefer to avoid human encounters. The bells are an unnatural sound in the woods designed to alert bears to human presence, so they will go elsewhere.
(2) Any noise, including chatting with a hiking partner, can also serve to alert the bears.
(3) I generally prefer to walk from the station, but central Braşov is a long walk on very busy roads from the station.
(4) I have only got out of a taxi once before due to scams, also in Romania.
At the Bran trailhead
At the first col
Horse rider setting out at second col
Ascending from the second col
Views from the trail summit, just north of Măgura Mare
View down to the third col
The bells on these two cows made quite a racket
Back to Braşov
Alpine flowers, mostly in shades of purple
On the road to Zărneşti
At Zărneşti
Must have been a fun hike
Walking down to the Braşov
Braşov central plaza
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