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# Hiking near Brașov: eight walks and how to reach them
- URL: https://hikingbeast.com/hiking-near-brasov/
- Published: 2026-10-03T17:55:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-03T19:09:49.000Z
- Description: Eight walks within reach of Brașov, with distance, ascent and difficulty for each, and how to get to every trailhead by train, bus or taxi. Includes seasonal conditions and local hazards.
- Author: Alex

Brașov is the easiest base for hiking in Romania. You can be on a mountain within forty minutes of your hotel, and you do not need to rent a car — trains and buses reach most of it, with a short metered taxi for a few of the trailheads. The city sits in a bowl with a forested peak rising straight out of the old town, the Bucegi an hour east, and the limestone wall of [Piatra Craiului](https://hikingbeast.com/northern-piatra-craiului-ridge/) an hour west.

**At a glance — 8 walks**

- [**Tâmpa, and on to Postăvarul**](#tampa-and-on-to-postavarul)  
Tâmpa: \~2 km · 300 m ascent · Easy · 1.5 hours
- [**Valea Crăpăturii to Cabana Curmătura**](#valea-crapaturii-to-cabana-curmatura)  
8.2 km · 896 m ascent · Moderate to hard · 3–4 hours
- [**Fântâna lui Botorog to Cabana Curmătura**](#fantana-lui-botorog-to-cabana-curmatura)  
\~5 km · Easy · 2.5–3 hours · yellow bar
- [**Piatra Mare from Dâmbu Morii**](#piatra-mare-from-dambu-morii)  
15 km round trip · Medium · 8 hours
- [**Bran Castle to Măgura village**](#bran-castle-to-magura-village)  
8 km · Easy to moderate · 3–4 hours · red bar
- [**Moara Dracului waterfall**](#moara-dracului-waterfall)  
Short · Easy · 2–3 hours
- [**Râșnov to Cabana Mălăiești**](#rasnov-to-cabana-malaiesti)  
12.5 km return · 950 m ascent · Medium · 5–6 hours
- [**Cabana Mălăiești from Gura Diham**](#cabana-malaiesti-from-gura-diham)  
\~10 km · Moderate · 4 hours · closed in winter

Below are eight walks, what each one is actually like, and how to reach the start by train, bus or taxi.

## Getting here

Trains run from **Bucharest Gara de Nord** through the day and take about three hours — a beautiful line that climbs the Prahova Valley with the Bucegi cliffs on your left for the last hour. Check current times on [CFR Călători](https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/?ref=hikingbeast.com) rather than trusting a timetable printed on a blog, including this one.

From Brașov you use the same station for Bușteni and Zărnești, and the bus terminals for Bran and Râșnov. Taxis are cheap and metered, and **Bolt** works in the city — usually the simplest way to reach a trailhead on the outskirts.

## A note on difficulty

**Easy** means a path anyone reasonably fit can walk. **Moderate** means a long day or a steep one, on a clear marked path. **Hard** means exposure, chains, scree or route-finding, and should not be your first day in these mountains.

## The walks

### Tâmpa, and on to Postăvarul

![Tâmpa, and on to Postăvarul](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/traseu-brasov-tampa-postavaru.jpg)

**Tâmpa: \~2 km · 300 m ascent · Easy · 1.5 hours**  
*Starts in the old town; the cable car is an alternative. Continuing over the ridge to Postăvarul makes it a full day — finish at Poiana Brașov and take the bus back.*

Tâmpa is the forested peak standing directly over the old town, with the Hollywood-style BRAȘOV sign on it. You can walk up in an hour or take the cable car. Carrying on over the ridge to Vârful Postăvarul at 1799 m turns it into a proper day — forest most of the way, then open ground and a long view south into the Bucegi.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/brasov-tampa-postavaru/)

### Valea Crăpăturii to Cabana Curmătura

![Valea Crăpăturii to Cabana Curmătura](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/piatra-craiului-valea-crapaturii-cabana-curmatura.jpg)

**8.2 km · 896 m ascent · Moderate to hard · 3–4 hours**  
*Train to Zărnești; the marked route starts 2.5 km from the station on Strada Toplița — walk it or take a short taxi. Helmet recommended in any season.*

The route goes from the station through the town, into the Crăpăturii gorge, up to Șaua Crăpăturii and down to Cabana Curmătura under the Piatra Craiului ridge. Nothing else within reach of Brașov gives you that much mountain for that little logistics.

*The full route description, with more photos and a GPS track, is on* [*greuladeal.ro*](https://www.greuladeal.ro/piatra-craiului-valea-crapaturii-cabana-curmatura/?ref=hikingbeast.com) *(in Romanian).*

### Fântâna lui Botorog to Cabana Curmătura

![Fântâna lui Botorog to Cabana Curmătura](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/cabana-curmatura-fantana-lui-botorog.jpg)

**\~5 km · Easy · 2.5–3 hours · yellow bar**  
*Train to Zărnești; the trailhead is about 4 km from the town, the last stretch on gravel that any car can manage.*

The gentlest way into Piatra Craiului, and manageable with children or on a short afternoon. A steady forest path to the hut, which sits in a meadow with the whole ridge above it. You can sleep there and walk the ridge the next morning.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/botorog-fountain-curmatura-chalet-piatra-craiului-mountains-romania/)

### Piatra Mare from Dâmbu Morii

![Piatra Mare from Dâmbu Morii](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/dambu-morii-piatra-mare.jpg)

**15 km round trip · Medium · 8 hours**  
*Local train or taxi to Dâmbu Morii, east of the city. Crampons in winter.*

A circuit: up the Drumul Familiar to Cabana Piatra Mare, on to the summit at 1844 m, then down through Valea Șipoaia. Quieter than the Bucegi and genuinely good in winter, when the Șipoaia gorge ices up.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/piatra-mare-one-day-hike-near-brasov/)

### Bran Castle to Măgura village

![Bran Castle to Măgura village](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/castelul-bran-magura.png)

**8 km · Easy to moderate · 3–4 hours · red bar**  
*Bus to Bran from Brașov Autogara 2 — about 55 minutes, every 30 minutes on weekdays and hourly at weekends. Open all year; includes some steep climbing.*

The castle is the obvious draw. The walk continues out of the village to Măgura — scattered farmhouses on a hillside under the Piatra Craiului wall, and the part of this valley the tour buses never reach. Loops back to Bran via Moieciu.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/hiking-near-bran-castle/)

### Moara Dracului waterfall

![Moara Dracului waterfall](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/cascada-moara-dracului.jpg)

**Short · Easy · 2–3 hours**  
*Near Bran; bus from Brașov then a short walk.*

The Devil's Mill — a narrow gorge and waterfall tucked into the forest. Short and shaded — an option on a hot day, or when cloud has covered the tops.

*The full route description, with more photos and a GPS track, is on* [*greuladeal.ro*](https://www.greuladeal.ro/cascada-moara-dracului/?ref=hikingbeast.com) *(in Romanian).*

### Râșnov to Cabana Mălăiești

![Râșnov to Cabana Mălăiești](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/rasnov-cabana-malaiesti.jpg)

**12.5 km return · 950 m ascent · Medium · 5–6 hours**  
*Train or bus to Râșnov (half an hour), then a taxi — the trailhead is 12 km beyond the town, about 35 lei.*

The back way into the Bucegi, approaching Cabana Mălăiești from the north rather than from Bușteni. Often walked on a cold, clear winter day. In deep snow it becomes a winter route rather than a walk.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/rasnov-to-cabana-malaiesti/)

### Cabana Mălăiești from Gura Diham

![Cabana Mălăiești from Gura Diham](https://hikingbeast.com/content/images/2026/10/gura-diham-cabana-malaiesti-take-ionescu.jpg)

**\~10 km · Moderate · 4 hours · closed in winter**  
*Train to Bușteni, then a taxi to Gura Diham — 5 km, about 25 lei, free parking if you drive.*

An isolated hut at 1720 m in the glacial valley of the same name, ringed by the north faces of the Bucegi. The section above Pichetul Roșu — known locally as *Take Ionescu* — is **closed in winter because of avalanche risk**, and even in summer the path has collapsed in places with chains on the exposed sections. The valley is at its best in early light, which is why many walkers stay the night.

[**Full route guide, with photos and the map →**](https://hikingbeast.com/cabana-malaiesti-summer-trail/)

## When to come

June to early October is the straightforward season: paths clear, cabanas open, nothing needed beyond boots and a waterproof.

From November to May these are **winter mountains**, and that word means more here than it does in western Europe. Snow lies deep on north-facing ground well into spring, marked paths disappear, and several routes above become serious — crampons, an ice axe, and the experience to use them. Avalanches are a real and recurring hazard here, and people die in them. If you are visiting in winter and are not an experienced winter walker, stay on Tâmpa, the Poiana Brașov tracks and the valley approaches.

## Things nobody tells you

- **Shepherd dogs.** You will meet flocks on open ground, guarded by several large dogs that run at you barking. This is normal and it is frightening the first time. Stop, do not run, do not turn your back, walk away steadily and let the shepherd call them off.
- **Mountain rescue is Salvamont — dial 112**, or their direct dispatch on **0725 826 668** (it spells 0-SALVAMONT on a keypad). The rescue itself is free; your treatment and evacuation are not, so bring insurance that covers hiking.
- **Cabanas are huts, not hotels.** Several are cash-only and most want booking ahead in summer and at weekends. Do not assume you can turn up at Mălăiești or Curmătura and get a bed.
- **Carry your water up.** Springs exist but are not reliable and almost nothing is treated.
- **Bears are real but are not your main risk.** Make noise, do not camp near rubbish, never approach one for a photograph. Your actual risks are weather, loose rock and running out of daylight.
- **Download the map before you go.** Signal dies in the valleys. The painted waymarks — a red stripe, a blue triangle, a yellow cross — are the real navigation, and they are maintained but not perfect.

## Where to sleep

Staying in Brașov old town and travelling out each day is cheaper and better served than staying in the mountains, and the trains are frequent. A mountain cabana makes sense when the walk needs one: Mălăiești and Curmătura both split a long day into two.