The fairy-tale mountain range that cuts a dramatic swathe through Central Europe, from Poland and the Czech Republic to Romania and Ukraine

By Neil Bowdler, Rachael Claye and Bill Rashleigh
Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
June 22, 2002

The Carpathians Where are the Carpathians?

The Carpathian mountains snake through Central Europe, dividing the Czech Republic from Slovakia, and Poland from Slovakia, before arcing south through western Ukraine and sprawling out across a swathe of Romania. The range stretches the same distance - 1,300km - as the Alps. It takes in several mini mountain ranges, from the Tatras on the Polish-Slovak border to the Fagaras in Romania. Far from the former communist citadels of Warsaw, Kiev and Bucharest, this is the Central Europe of history, myth and strange folklore.

Where should I begin?

Start exploring among the glaciated granite peaks of the Tatra mountains, the highest in the system. They straddle the Polish-Slovak border. Nothing will prepare you for their uncompromising arrival on the horizon. The Polish resort of Zakopane or the Slovak town of Poprad are the gateway towns. They recently had a falling-out after launching separate (and ultimately unsuccessful) bids to host the Winter Olympics in the Tatra.

You can reach Zakopane direct by rail from Krakow in southern Poland. The resort has ornate wooden houses, and mountains on three sides. It was once a haven for Polish composers, artists and writers. Today, it's a curious mix of the old and the commercial, where you'll find the local Goral mountainfolk doing a roaring trade, dressed in traditional costume, driving horse and traps for visitors, selling woodcrafts and smoked cheeses, or playing their tone-defying music (think grating double bass and thigh-slapping vocals). Private rooms abound in the town, and outside there are plenty of mountain hostels belonging to the Polish Country-lovers' Association (the PTTK;  www.pttk.pl).

The mountains are the real stars. The Giewont mountain - a sleeping knight, according to legend - dominates the skyline, and there are thousands of valley and mountain-top walks, all of them well marked. If you're after a quick thrill, a cable car at nearby Kuznice will take you to the summit of Kasprowy Wierch, from which it's a dizzy climb, aided by ladders and chains, up to the exposed rocky peak of Swinica.

What about the slovak side?

In Slovakia, a circuitous bus-ride away, there are fewer people, more (and higher) mountains, and life is even cheaper. There is a limitless supply of day-long hikes of all difficulties in the Slovak High Tatras. You can base yourself in mountain hostels or a pension in the towns of Stary Smokovec or Tatranska Lomnica; a very handy light-rail link runs between them. A two-stage cable car will take you right up to Lomnicky Stit (2,632m), from where, on a clear day, the world is a mass of roller-coaster ridges and gravity-defying peaks. The pin-top summit of Gerlachovsky Stit, at 2,655m, is the highest mountain in the entire Carpathian ring, and the preserve of the experienced climber.

The mountain youth hostels of Slovakia offer cheap beds, and also provide some of the best hostel grub in the world, with buchty na pare (steamed dumplings in a range of sweet sauces) and vyprazany syr (fried local cheese in breadcrumbs) just two of the culinary highlights. The ideal setting for such delicacies is Chata pod Rysmi, a fantastic stone hostel up on the snow line on the Slovak side of the mammoth mountain peak of Rysy, and the highest refuge in the Tatra, at 2,250m.

Where next?

Further east are the chalk-white turrets of the Pieniny hills and the Dunajec raft ride, a two- to three-hour trip down a winding gorge between limestone cliffs, with a few splashy bumps thrown in. You can take the trip from either the Polish side (Sromowce Nizne to Szczawnica) or the Slovak side (Spisska Stara Vess to Lesnica). Goral locals from either side of the border will be your pilots. The ride developed from the logging industry. Felled timber was bound, floated and ridden downstream to the sawmills.

The Polish Pieniny are also home to a couple of excellent hilltop castles, Czorsztyn and Niedzica. The latter houses a museum of folk art (00 48 18 262 9489, Tues-Sun, 9am-6.30pm), as well as private, antique-furnished rooms for those who need a princely pampering. A double costs Ј40 a night. I feel the pull of the east...

The Bieszczady mountains, a little further east, are unusual in Central Europe for their barrenness. They are also miles from anywhere. The smooth green hills are covered in long grasses through which you can float for hours.

The area is a national park, home to bison, bear, wolves and lynx. It's best enjoyed from the saddle: this is horse-trekking and mountain-biking country. Riding holidays are organised by Zachowawcza Hodowla Konia Huculskiego (00 48 13 461 0650), in the Polish village of Wolostati 6km south-east of Ustrzyki Gorne.

From the south-eastern Polish town of Przemysl, you can travel into the Bieszczady by rail (via Ukraine, with no stop-offs allowed or visa required), or by bus. Ustrzyki Dolne and Ustrzyki Gorne are the two main bases from which to explore. This a place of ghosts - most of the native Boyk population was forcibly removed to Ukraine after the Second World War, and you can still find their abandoned wooden houses and Orthodox churches up in the hills.

So What about Ukraine?

From the Bieszczady, you're "back in the USSR", or should we say, modern-day Ukraine, through which the Carpathians begin their giant arc southwards. This is not a destination for the idle traveller. A journey demands rigorous planning - and a visa. A single-entry visa to Ukraine will set you back Ј40 including a Ј10 handling fee - call 0906 550 8955 for visa information or 09065 266 655 for an application form.

A rail route from Przemysl in Poland to the Romanian capital of Bucharest circumnavigates the Carpathians on their northern side, passing through the glorious Ukrainian showpiece city of L'viv and the towns of Kolomyya and Chernivtsi. Kolomyya is the stop for Ukraine's highest mountain, Hoverla (2,061m), while Chernivtsi is the station for the magic land of Bukovina, which straddles the Ukrainian-Romanian border. This area is renowned for its deep, dark forests, the native Hucul, a terse people who graze sheep and cattle on the highland pastures, and above all, for its painted monasteries, most of which are to be found on the Romanian side of the border. They were founded in the 15th century and the outer walls of these Orthodox citadels are covered, from top to bottom, with glorious frescos depicting Biblical scenes.

So Where do I find dracula?

In Transylvania, of course. The Carpathians skirt the edge of Transylvania, Romania's central and wildest region, but more on Dracula later (see box). This is where the exiled Russian poet Pushkin fell in love with Zemfira, a Gypsy princess. Wolves and bears still roam. The mountains cover a third of Romania, and their spectacular crags - peppered with Gothic citadels and isolated hamlets - offer a tantalising glimpse back in time. Among the highlights are the precipitous gorge at Turda and the stunning Prahova valley in the eastern Carpathians; the extraordinary rock formations of Mount Ceahlau and the Valley of Hell in the western Apuseni mountains; and the Babele Sphinx, with its wind-carved grin, in the southern Bucegi range.

Some of the best walking is to be found in the Fagaras mountains, 50km west of the city of Brasov. The jagged pyramid-shaped peaks are dotted with nearly 70 glacial lakes, the highest of which is Lake Mioarele, at 2,282m. Well-marked trails mean that getting lost is difficult, but detailed maps can be picked up in most main towns. For the doughty, the Retezat mountains in the far south-west of Transylvania, are perhaps the most stunning. They're harder to get to, but the effort is well worth it.

Where can I stay?

There are many mountain "cabanas" - wooden hunting lodges - to stay in, scattered throughout the Romanian Carpathians. Most are marked on the local "Harta Turistica" hiking maps, and range from opulent villas to rustic sheds. Packing your own victuals is a good idea, as a bed is all you'll find in some remote places. You could try Babele cabana (00 40 44 322 458), five minutes from the Sphinx, or the luxurious Negoiu cabana (00 40 94 573 875) in the Fagaras. Camping is an option, and as long as you're not in a nature reserve, a night under the stars is not a problem. Just beware of the beasts: more than a third of Europe's wolves, bears and lynx are holed up in the Romanian Carpathians. If you're really stumped, hundreds of sheepfolds are marked on the hiking maps.

What else can I do there?

If you don't like heights, there's always caving. The world's first institute dedicated to the science of speleology was founded at Cluj University near the Apuseni mountains, in the western Carpathians. The warren of caves has something for everyone: a subterranean saunter through cavernous grottoes like Magura and Ceracile Ponorului, or more perilous shafts in the Apuseni for the seasoned pot-holer. If that's all a little energetic, there are scores of village festivals in the Romanian Carpathians. The problem for visitors is that most are small affairs and, while you'd be quite welcome, knowing when to show up is the trick. Among the best are the Girl Fair of Muntela Gaina, held in the Apuseni on the Sunday before 20 July, and the wild dancing Prislop Pass festival, staged in August.

You mentioned strange folklore?

And vampires. This is where virgin maidens are pictured wandering through ominous woods, waiting to be devoured by Christopher Lee. However, Romanians make no connection between Dracula the film character, the man he was modelled on - the ghoulish Vlad Dracul (see box) - and vampires. The bloodsuckers of legend are souls trapped in their bodies after death by their sinful actions. As recently as 1988, a 13-year-old Serbian girl was accused of vampirism and killed by her family.

Vampires are supposed to have a dark mark on the forehead, or a rudimentary tail. If you aren't lucky enough to meet one, the next best thing is to visit Hrman, Prejmer or Cisndioara, where you can wander through storm-lashed villages, dark wooden houses and sinister Gothic churches. Disappointingly for members of the numerous vampire societies, you're more likely to lose a pint of blood on Romania's anarchic, deeply potholed roads. The Transylvanian Society of Dracula organises suitably ghoulish tours of the sites (e-mail:  cdt@art.co.ro).

How do I get there?

The best gateway into the Tatra mountains is Krakow. In summer, you can fly direct from London Gatwick from Ј225 return with British Airways (0845 773 3377;  www.ba.com) or Lot (0845 601 0949;  www.lot.com) - although you may find a cheaper ticket via a specialist agent such as Poltours (020-8810 5625), which will also book trains and hotels in Zakopane. For the Romanian Carpathians fly to Bucharest; British Airways and the Romanian airline, Tarom (020-7224 3693,  www.tarom.digiro.net) fly from London, with flights currently from Ј195 return.

Some firms offer specialist walking tours. Thomson Lakes & Mountains (0870 606 1470;  www.thomsonlakesandmountains.co.uk) offers a seven-night package to Zakopane, starting at Ј365, including flights and accommodation and the option of a local guide to the more demanding peaks. Czech-based Atypus Tours (www.atypus.cz;  00 42 05 4221 8739) designs and manages tours for groups and individuals.

Trains run regularly from Krakow to Zakopane, while Przemysl in Poland is the starting point of a great, trans-Carpathian rail route, which runs, with changes in Lviv and Chernivtsi, right around the eastern slopes to Bucharest.

Late spring to early autumn is the best time to travel to the Carpathians. Once the snow falls, the mountains are a savage wilderness only to be braved by the experienced mountaineer.

Fancy a bite?

At home with count dracula

Bram Stoker's novel about the infamous aristocrat drew on a vampire craze that swept Europe in the 18th century. In Stoker's imagination, Dracula was a king among bloodsuckers. Yet the "real" Dracula - the son of Wallachia ruler Vlad Dracul - had nothing to do with vampires. He was far more sinister than that.

Born in 1431, Vlad III picked up the nickname Vlad Tepes - the Impaler - for his favourite method of execution. The victim would be bound spread-eagled while a stake was hammered up his rectum. The stake would be raised with the convict on it, to let gravity and agony do their work. Vlad earned Europe-wide fame for his zero-tolerance policy on insubordination and crime.

He dealt with the rebellious Boyars by asking them to dinner and impaling many. He summoned Wallachia's unemployed and disabled to a feast, asked them if they wanted freedom from suffering, and had them burnt.

On the diplomatic front, Vlad nailed the turbans of two Turkish emissaries to their heads, and dissuaded Sultan Mehmet II from marching on Wallachia by planting a forest of stakes outside Targoviste - upon which were impaled the bodies of 20,000 Bulgarian and Turkish prisoners.

In his defence, Vlad had a rough childhood. At 11, he was sent with his brother Radu as a hostage to Turkey, where Radu became the Sultan's catamite. Released five years later into exile, Vlad had to take on board the brutal murder of his father and, later, that of his elder brother Mircea, who was buried alive. Vlad also met a sticky end, though who murdered him is unknown. His body is said to lie in the Snagov Monastery.

He is now being rehabilitated as a hero who led the nation in anarchic times. And, in what could be a real horror story, a Dracula theme park is to be built near the 15th-century town of Sighisoara, his birthplace. Some locals have taken umbrage at the development, which is being built in protected parkland, but the park is set to open in 2004.