Romania on your travel list !: Unique Places in Romania

Tourism in Romania focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history. The number of tourists is growing every year and tourism is becoming an increasingly important source for Romania's GDP with 7-9 million people now visiting yearly. Romania's economy is characterized by a huge potential for tourism. Number of tourists grew from 4.8 million in 2002 to 8.9 million in 2008. The revenues grew from 400 million in 2002 to 607 in 2004 Tourism in Romania attracted €880 million in investments in 2005.
Tourism is a significant contributor to the Romanian economy. In the 1990s the government heavily promoted the development of skiing in the Romanian Carpathians. Domestic and international tourism generates about 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 0.8 million jobs. Following commerce, tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. In 2006 Romania registered 20 million overnight stays by international tourists, 4% higher than in the previous year and an all-time record. Two-thirds of all major trade fairs from Central Europe are held in Romania, and each year they attract 2 to 3 million business travelers, about 20% of whom are foreigners. The four most important trade fairs take place in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Timişoara.
In the year 2006, 14,122,798 tourists vacationed in Romania. The total revenue was $4.2 billion and with an average expenditure of $679 per tourist. Over the years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, often competing with Greece, Italy and Spain. Romania destinations such as Constanța and Mamaia (sometimes called the Romanian Riviera) have become very popular among European tourists.
Romania has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, making it a good market for tourism-related equipment and services.

The Berca Mud Volcanoes are a geological and botanical reservation located in the Berca commune in the Buzău County in Romania. Its most spectacular feature is the mud volcanoes, small volcano-shaped structures typically a few meters high caused by the eruption of mud and natural gases.

The phenomenon can be observed on two separate locations near the Berca commune, dubbed the Little Mud Volcanoes and The Big Mud Volcanoes.

Scarisoara Cave

Scărişoara Cave is one of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, in a part of Carpathian chain.

The cave is located at an altitude of 1165 metres above sea level. It is 105 m deep and 720 m long, and the entrance shaft (50 m in diameter and 48 m in depth) gives access through metal stairs to a large chamber, (108 m long, 78 m wide) - The Big Hall. From this point three openings lead to The Church (in front, with over 100 stalagmites), Great Reservation, Coman Gallery (left) and Little Reservation (right). The part that tourists can visit includes the entrance shaft, The Big Hall and The Church, the other chambers,which can be visited only with the agreement of the Speological Institute of Cluj-Napoca, being reserved for scientists.
The glacier has a volume of 75000 cubic metres and it is 26 m high. The temperature is up to +1°C in the summer and down to -7°C in the winter. In the part for tourists the average temperature is around 0°C. Bats live in the ice cave, as do small bugs (2–3 mm long) called Pholeuon prozerpinae glaciale. In the Big Reservation a Rupicapra skeleton was discovered.

Merry Cemetery

       The Merry Cemetery is a cemetery in the village of Săpânţa, Maramureş county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction.
The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies – a belief that views death as something indelibly solemn. Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made, a culture whose philosophical tenets presumably vouched for the immortality of the soul and the belief that death was a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life.
    The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraş, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraş carved the first epitaph and, as of 1960s, more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight. The inscription on his tombstone cross says:

         Since I was a little boy
    I was known as Stan Ioan Pătraş
      Listen to me, fellows

There are no lies in what I am going to say

                 All along my life
        I meant no harm to anyone
     But did good as much as I could
          To anyone who asked

Oh, my poor World

Because It was hard living in it

Transfagarasan

The road climbs to 2,034 metres altitude. The most spectacular route is from the North. It is a winding road, dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents. The Transfăgărășan is both an attraction and a challenge for hikers, cyclists, drivers and motorcycle enthusiasts alike. Due to the topography, the average speed is around 40 km/h. The road also provides access to Bâlea Lake and Bâlea Waterfall.
The road is usually closed from late October until late June because of snow. Depending on the weather, it may remain open until as late as November. It may also be closed, at times, because of weather conditions (it occasionally snows even in August). There are signs at the town of Curtea de Argeș and the village of Cartisoara that provide information on the passage. Travellers can find food and lodging at several hotels or chalets (cabane) along the way.
It has more tunnels (a total of 5) and viaducts than any other road in Romania. Near the highest point, at Bâlea Lake, the road passes through Bâlea Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in Romania (884 m).
Among the attractions along the southern section of the road, near the village of Arefu, is the Poienari fortress. The castle served as the residence of Vlad III the Impaler, the prince who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula character. There is a parking area and a path to the ruins.
The northern section is used as a part of yearly cyclist competitions Tour of Romania. The difficulty of this section is considered to be very similar to Hors Categorie climbs in the Tour de France.