Cheia

We continue our travels as part of the RRI prize winning contest “From the Wine Route to the Princes Route.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 27.02.2014, 14:01

The contest is dedicated to the county of Prahova, in southern Romania, with its seat in Ploiesti. Setting aside for a little while the well-known resorts on Prahova Valley, and straying away from the routes of fruit, wines and princes, let us discover lesser known but no less interesting places: the village of Maneciu and the Cheia resort.

We stopped over in our trip at Maneciu town hall, our partners in the RRI contest. We spoke to Mihail Barbu, deputy mayor of the village, who told us of a few places worth visiting here: “Maneciu is the largest village cluster in Prahova County, the northernmost, in fact, on the 25th meridian, 120 km north of Bucharest, on the upper valley of the Teleajen River. We have in the area the largest rock dam in the country, the Maneciu dam, we also have tourist attractions such as the resort of Cheia, and we are the only village with a resort in the entire county. It is a beautiful resort, on National Road 1A, at an equal distance from Ploiesti and Brasov.”

Romanians have been building churches and monasteries since times immemorial, and Maneciu awaits us with two such places. Here is Mihail Barbu with details: “The monasteries were built by Transylvanian Romanians, one by a widowed princess from that province. She built the Suzana nun monastery in a beautiful area. The other monastery, Cheia, is a monastery for monks, founded by refugees from Transylvania, and subsequently Romanian princes endowed it with lands, allowing it to develop. Cheia resort appeared around it.”

At first sight, Suzana Monastery looks like a fort, with strong walls. Once inside, you discover the beauty of nature and of the 44 centuries old monk’s cells.

The tourism opportunities in Cheia were the next topic of discussion with Mihail Barbu: “The resort has 40 to 50 guest houses, 3 hotels and 3 high altitude cabins. The resort is a primary destination for high altitude tourism and mountain trekking, around the Ciucas, Zaganu and Grohotis mountains. Then there is ecumenical tourism, and everyone comes for the relaxing beauty of the place and the fresh air. According to legend, this should be the place filled with the most bioenergy and positive energy, which I could not confirm. You are eagerly awaited in Maneciu. We are in the nicest place in the nicest country, and you are warmly invited to visit it.”

For people who love to travel high in the mountains, there is Ciucas Cabin, next to Ciucas Peak. Gheorghe Alexe, the host, told us what to find there: “We have excellent accommodation, we raise our own animals, and so we can provide tourists with natural products. I’ve always liked wood, and I made a combination mountain style, with wood and pelts and stone, with the lights mounted on cartwheels hanging from the ceiling, everything natural. We have cell phone coverage. We provide tourists with transportation both ways, in winter we have sleigh slopes. We cook traditional dishes, with smoked pork, sharp cured cheese and polenta, specific to the area.”

We asked Gheorghe Alexe what mountain trails he recommends: There are the trails starting at the Red Mountain, going to Prof. Ioan Fountain, up the Beer Valley, ending at our cabin. From here, you can reach Bratocea Pass, Tigailor Peak, Ciucas Peak, Vama Buzaului, or you can return through the Zagan Park, through to Valea Stanii. We provide auto transportation at any time, both to the cabin, or on tourist trails that start from this node.”

We remind you that the lucky winners of the RRI contest will have the opportunity of getting accommodation in this mountain area. Therefore you are invited to follow our broadcasts, our website, www.rri.ro, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Flickr profiles, answering correctly our questions. The competition closes on 15 March 2014 mailing date. You have 18 days left to send us your answers.