There
\nis a growing number of tourists who are set to discover the Carpathian
\nMountains’ wildlife, thanks to several special tours they’re willing to take in
\nthe mountains. Going on such tours enables them to understand hidden details,
\nto watch the wild animals in their own habitat, while in the summer, tourists
\ncan enjoy the beauty of the Carpathian Mountains’ flora. Tours can be personalized
\nand completed with visit in the rural regions, to the traditional craftsmen or
\nto several tourist assets of a particular area. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cosmin Zgrem\u021bia is a forestry engineer by profession. Since
\n2014, he has also been a specialized flora and fauna guide. Ever since he was a
\nchild, Cosmin imagined the forest resembled an outdoor museum. Later on, he
\nfound out Romania had a surface area of 6.5 million hectares of forest, an
\nimmense surface area, that is, which he himself, as a forestry engineer, could
\nhave never imagined as a whole. Therefore, given the country’s so great
\nforested area, Romania has become increasingly known, internationally, as a destination
\nof exploration of the natural wildlife. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cosmin Zgrem\u021bia:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I have been doing sylvan tourism, which
\nis part of ecotourism, and I do believe in the value of conservation through
\neco-education. Actually, I ended up being a tourism guide out of love for
\nnature and thanks to my profession. I was quick to discover that those auxiliary
\nservices which according to us are attached to silviculture were poorly put to good
\nuse by my fellow forestry workers. In 2011, when I was a hunting fund manager as
\npart of Brasov Municipal City’s Hunting Fund, I came up with the idea of opening
\nto the lay public the hunting observatories for bear observation tours. That’s
\nhow my tourism career started. Gradually, I have grown fond of that, more and
\nmore. I noticed I had a penchant for explaining all those intimate details of bears’
\nlives, and of the forest in general. So I decided, having resigned from the
\nposition I had with the Forestry Directorate, to dedicate my entire life and
\nactivity to that particular field of ecotourism. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All
\nvisits Cosmin has been organizing are thematic visits. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One such tour enables visitors to observe the wildlife fauna. What we do,
\nactually, is follow the animals’ traces. We stand a 90% observation chance for
\nthe common species and 10% for the protected species: bear, wolf, wild cat.
\nAnother tour gets us explore the rural environment, it is part of a thematic
\nvisit blending details about trees, plant species into details pertaining to
\nthe Romanian cultural identity. Another tour takes you on a visit to a chalet.
\nSuch a visit is made in the company of a specialized guide, a nature scientist, and
\nincludes several stopovers. The most popular visit is the thematic walk through
\nthe forest. It is like a safari where you have
\nstopovers every ten meters. Plant species are observed, certain bird species,
\neven insects. I have been trying to speak about each separate species. I want
\nto involve everybody. Therefore, the experience is like an outdoor documentary,
\nwhere participants really get involved. It is a giant leap we take, from watching
\na documentary on the telly to actually being part of it. The most spectacular option
\ncould be a tour in the Fagaras Mountains. Its difficulty is a little bit
\ngreater, but you can have the chance to watch the bears but also the chamois,
\nin the wildlife. Practically, each time we go out in the wilderness I use the environment
\nto offer tourists the required info and instil the love of nature in them, at
\nonce pursuing my aim, eventually, that of eco-education. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some of the tourist who opt for such wildlife observation
\ntours also have the required photo technique. They are keen on having snapshots
\nof bears, woodpeckers and even wolves in their natural environment. With details
\non that, here is our guide today, Cosmin Zgremtia, once again. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Each species can be taken pictures
\nof. There are optimum periods, for taking pictures or for observation. For example,
\nyou stand very little chances to photograph a bear in the wilderness, in winter.
\nTherefore, the bears’ photographing season usually begins on April the 10th
\nand ends on September 15, when the bears retire for their winter slumbers. Actually,
\nlatterly, towards winter, bears are less active during the day and more active during
\nthe night, before they retire. If they want to live a wild experience, my guests
\nneed to have the minimum required equipment for hiking. Which means boots with
\na grippy sole, proper trousers, three layers of clothing, for the abdomen and
\nthe chest and something to cover their head with. As for my challenge as a
\nguide, I want to have in-shape tourists. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
First of all, tourists are always impressed with the
\ninformation they get. Cosmin Zgremtia once again:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Secondly, they are impressed by the interaction
\nwith the wildlife, with the forest as such, what also impressed them is the way
\nthey felt they connected to nature. And, thirdly, they are impressed by the way
\nI treated them and how they felt among the locals. In the tours I offer, I try
\nto integrate my guests in the naturel environment but also in out authentic Romanian
\ncommunity. In effect, I am trying to offer Romania an identity
\nas regards its natural resources, but also culture-wise. Most of the tourists
\ncome from Great Britain, they are followed by French and Italian tourists, but
\nwe also had guests from Australia, even from New Zealand and even from North America,
\nthe United States. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cosmin told us most of the tourists he accompanied were
\nforeign and that he would like the Romanian tourists to take an interest in such
\ntours. However, such an interest may stem from a certain kind of education in
\nthe field of tourism.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Practically, most of my tourists are
\nforeign citizens because they already have that particular upbringing, that
\nkind of education. They can identify the key words in the description
\nof the tourist programs and are quick to accept a trip into the wild. Moreover, the foreign tourists’ faith in a tourist
\nguide is stronger. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you contact the national tourism information and promotion
\ncentres across Romania, especially those located close by the nature or
\nnational parks, you’re sure to get data about a tourist guide who can accompany
\nyou in the exploration of nature, so that you can have a truly special
\nexperience. (EN)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thematic mountaineering and Romanian identity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":143801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43423],"tags":[36330,42023,43994,44303,29229,39821],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-151193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travellers-guide","tag-bear","tag-guide","tag-hiking","tag-observatory","tag-tourism","tag-wildlife"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n