Day one is a travel day. You get picked up in Gheorgheni and driven off-road in a van up to Hipparion Ranch in the Eastern Carpathians, watching for deer, capercaillie or a bear on the way. Once you've settled in and met the horses, you can soak in the ranch's saltwater Hot Pot. Dinner is a traditional Szekler meal cooked by Brigitta in the log cabin.

The riding starts on day two and runs for six days. You pack your day bag into saddlebags and ride to the source of the Olt, Romania's second-largest river. From there the trail climbs through spruce forest to the top of Mount Sípos for a picnic lunch looking across the Harghita Mountains. Day three is the longest at seven hours. It goes up a steep, twisting trail to Del Hegy, where you'll sometimes get off and walk the horses, with lunch in view of the Kelemen Alps (2,100 m). Day four follows the old Salt Road trade route and ends with the bear watching. Day five crosses the Harghita plateau for trotting and cantering, past the Zetelaki reservoir and into the southern Gheorgheni Alps. Day six climbs Ostorosz for views over the Madarasi range, then crosses the Maros River to a family guesthouse in Marosfő. Day seven is a shorter four hours back over Sípos and along a mountain stream to the ranch, finishing with a campfire and fresh trout for dinner.

The ride is a proper point-to-point trail. You sleep somewhere different most nights, in small guesthouses, a converted stable and village pensions, and the horses carry you the whole way. The terrain varies a lot: forest paths steep enough to dismount on, open meadows and plains good for canters, and river crossings. The horses are Lipizzaner crossed with native mountain horses, ridden in local snaffle bridles and comfortable German long-distance saddles.

Csaba was born in Székely Land and has been going into these mountains since he was four. Back then he rode up on his grandfather's carriage taking food to forest workers and bringing timber down to the valley. He did an agricultural internship in Germany and rode professionally in Hungary. He finished a Tourism Management degree at the University of Cluj-Napoca in 2015 and founded Hipparion. He knows every path on the route and most of the people along it. Katrin grew up riding in rural southern Germany, worked as a violinist for eight years, and moved to Transylvania in 2017 to run the ranch with Csaba.

The ranch itself sits in mountain meadows where the horses roam free all year. They share the meadows with a herd of Hungarian grey cattle, the long-horned 'szürke marha', a rare old steppe breed that the ranch has kept since 2020. The ride runs May to October, when the meadows are in flower and the higher trails are passable.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation at the home ranch and guesthouses along the route - Full board (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner) - Afternoon cake, tea and coffee after riding - Drinks with meals, including local alcohol - All riding (6 riding days) - Experienced local guide - Bear watching evening - Saddlebags - Use of the saltwater hot tub - Transfer from Gheorgheni to the ranch and back

What's not included

- International flights to Romania - Tips - Airport or train transfers to Gheorgheni (train tickets or private transfer available at extra cost) - Travel insurance - Single supplement where available