Scărișoara: Nature, Culture and Holiday Apartments

Nature

Cheile Mândruțului is a geological and geomorphological protected area with representative karst formations.

Access to Cheile Mândruțului is via the DN75, which runs parallel to the Arieș Valley along the southern edge of the protected area.

Cheile și cascada Zugăi is located on the border between Scărișoara and Albac and forms a four-kilometre-long gorge with narrow sections where the water flows rapidly.

Forests cover 74.51 percent of the administrative territory of the Scărișoara municipality.

The municipality’s tourism profile is linked to a scattered settlement landscape typical of the Apuseni, which generally extends across the sun-exposed slopes over dozens of square kilometres.

The Cheile Mândruțului viewpoint in Scărișoara, at an altitude of 922 metres, offers panoramic views of the villages of Scărișoara and Gârda de Sus and the surrounding valleys.

Piatra Mândruțului reaches an altitude of 922 metres and offers views of Scărișoara, Gârda de Sus and Arieșeni.

Peștera Mare de la Colșul Morii in Cheile Mândruțului is 85 metres long.

Cheile Mândruțului are only one metre wide in places and feature water slides and small cascades.

Culture

The Scărișoara municipality invites visitors to its centre for the promotion and preservation of traditional culture and traditional crafts.

Playing the tulnic is regarded as a tradition typical of the people of Scărișoara; on clear summer evenings, girls and women played in clearings on the slopes.

The dances of the Moți documented in Scărișoara include Țarina, învârtite and tropotite.

The Easter custom of the Toacă in Scărișoara involves seven young men guarding a wooden toacă from Saturday afternoon until Easter Monday morning.

The wooden church in Scărișoara was built in 1848.

The wooden church in Lăzești is one of the old wooden churches of Țara Moților.

It features traditional architecture and an authentic wooden structure.

Inside the wooden church in Lăzești are, among other things, paintings and icons more than two centuries old, which have accompanied generations of worshippers.

History

The first documented mention of Scărișoara dates from 1733 and appears in Orthodox and Uniate statistics of Transylvania.

In connection with Horea’s uprising, Scărișoara is mentioned on 26 November 1784 as the place of origin of leaders of the uprising.

Crafts and Cuisine

The traditional coopers in Scărișoara made barrels, tubs, troughs and smaller wooden vessels called “zdroabe” from staves.

Balmoș is a traditional dish from Scărișoara, served to guests or on holidays; it is prepared from sour cream, cornmeal and pieces of cheese or fresh cheese and is usually served hot.

You can find more pages about localities here: Alba Iulia, Ampoița, Gârbova, Sălciua De Sus, Kudsir, Gârda De Sus, Ţelna and Laz.

Trails

The CR trail connects Scărișoara in the Cheile Mândruțului area with the high-altitude trail between Valea Albac and Valea Ordâncușei.

For the higher-level travel overview: Alba.