Via Transilvanica: Terra Borza Teutonica · Stage 3
Walking time as viatransilvanica.com states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 8 h 24. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Viatransilvanica.com
Where OpenStreetMap does not map the trail
Stage 73, Cobor to Hălmeag, the longest of the region: 29.93 km, 8 h, 625 m of climb, medium on the association's site (its printed guide says easy). Just after the start in Cobor, about 300 m of the way between two streets are not on OpenStreetMap, so the map draws them dashed: follow the waymarks there. No springs either: carry plenty from the villages; Ticușu has a shop.
Best season: May to October. May to October suits the trail best, the association's guide says; it does not recommend winter for now, with snow and few places open. Some hosts open only part of the year (one in Archita from April to October), and the guide's accommodation details date from 2025: confirm when you book. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A small village. The association's map lists four places to stay, 0.3 to 0.6 km from the stage end: a guesthouse for adults, two homestays and a farm with rooms.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end · overnight
Town
A village where one local coordinator books about 29 places in several village houses and the parish house, with camping and showers, the official guide says.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Make it your trip
There is no central booking. The association's map lists the places to stay along each stage, most of them village homes and small guesthouses booked with the host by phone or WhatsApp; a few book online. Book Viscri well ahead. Beds cost more in this region than elsewhere on the Via Transilvanica. A few hosts fetch walkers from the trail or carry luggage on request.
The association's eight stages, 71 to 78, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe first four stages, village to village by Viscri, Cobor and Hălmeag.
Plan this journeyThe last four stages, over the hills to Bran, Râșnov and Brașov.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (427 m) and high point (654 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (427 m) and the highest point (654 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor |
| High point, day / night | 0°/-9° | 3°/-8° | 8°/-3° | 14°/2° | 19°/6° | 23°/10° | 25°/11° | 25°/11° | 20°/7° | 15°/2° | 8°/-2° | 1°/-7° |
| Low point, day / night | 1°/-8° | 4°/-7° | 10°/-2° | 16°/3° | 21°/8° | 24°/11° | 26°/13° | 27°/12° | 21°/8° | 16°/3° | 9°/-1° | 3°/-6° |
| Rain, mm | 28 | 25 | 33 | 42 | 68 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 41 | 31 | 29 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | Frost | Possible | Likely |
| Daylight | 9 h 02 | 10 h 20 | 11 h 49 | 13 h 29 | 14 h 54 | 15 h 43 | 15 h 25 | 14 h 12 | 12 h 37 | 11 h 01 | 9 h 31 | 8 h 41 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
The association's map lists every place to stay near the trail, with its beds and how to book. Most hosts are private homes. Confirm dates and prices when you book: some open only in season (the association's map, read 13 October 2026).
Via Transilvanica: the trail mapThe association's guide asks for special care in this region: flocks are guarded by dogs, and dogs guard farms and houses too. Carry pepper spray, an ultrasonic repeller or dog treats, and let shepherds know you are there. Keep 50 to 100 m from a flock, do not run, and call 112 if a dog will not let you go (the association's guide, read 13 October 2026).
Via Transilvanica: safety on the trail (Romanian)Stage 76 crosses hunting grounds, and their keepers ask walkers to go in company, wear bright clothes rather than camouflage, make noise and keep out after sunset. The guide suggests bear spray for an aggressive animal within 10 m; keep about 30 m from a bear and back away slowly. In an emergency, call 112 (the association's stage 76 page, read 13 October 2026).
Via Transilvanica: the traveller's guideStages 71 to 73 have no natural springs. Carry water from the villages: Viscri, Lovnic, and the shop in Ticușu (the association's stage pages, read 13 October 2026).
Via Transilvanica: stage 73Our line follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap. Near Viscri, on stages 71 and 72, it differs from the association's track in places, and in Cobor about 300 m are not mapped. Follow the waymarks there; the association publishes its own track for the region.
Via Transilvanica: Terra Borza TeutonicaThe association publishes no closure notices for this region: the warnings layer of its map was empty on 13 October 2026, and its team posts news in its official Facebook group. Hosts and points at the start and end of each stage stamp the Traveller's Booklet, sold in the association's shop (viatransilvanica.com, checked 13 October 2026).
Via Transilvanica: official Facebook groupGetting there
Travel around Cobor to Hălmeag.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Archita has a halt on the railway (Archita Hm in the CFR timetable), about 1.2 km from the start by the fortified church. Check trains in the CFR timetable; the association's stage pages also link the Autogari bus portal. Archita is the end of the main route's stage 26 too.
Infofer: CFR train timetableBuses run from Brașov to Bran: on 13 October 2026 Transbus left Autogara 1, by Brașov station, every hour from 06:45 to 20:45, about 1 h 10, and other companies run too. Buses from Brașov reach Rupea, the nearest town to Viscri, in about an hour; the association publishes no link on from Rupea. Râșnov, Zărnești and Șercaia have stations in the CFR timetable.
Autogari: Brașov to Bran busesThe region ends on Piața Sfatului in Brașov's old town. Trains leave Brașov station across Romania, and Brașov has an airport.
Infofer: Brașov stationTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: between the villages and in the forest the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
The Via Transilvanica crosses Romania from Putna (stage 1) to Drobeta-Turnu Severin (stage 70). This guide covers only its region Terra Borza Teutonica, the first extension of that main route: it leaves the main route at Archita, where stage 26 ends, and runs to Brașov. The association (Asociația Tășuleasa Social) publishes the region as its stages 71 to 78, 188 km in all, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage; its printed guide numbers the same stages 1 to 8. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 19225143, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 185.4 km, cut at the association's eight stage ends. Our line follows the mapped route, which differs from the association's track in places near Viscri, on stages 71 and 72; follow the waymarks there. In Cobor, at the start of stage 73, 292 m between two streets are not on OpenStreetMap: the map draws them dashed. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Via Transilvanica: Terra Borza TeutonicaMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation