Sustainable tourism

Imaginative diversification

  • development of rural tourism, including innovative mountain bike trails which attract visitors and income to the area, a unique mountain-bike trail created with local labour, volunteers and minimal investment increased significantly the number of visitors and the local income.

Linking visitor experience with local incomes, offering a range of activities and traditional products from bird watching, trecking, shepherding to pottery making.

Sustainable Tourism

Agro-tourism and nature tourism can contribute significantly to the continued economic viability of this special area, providing a direct link between the High Nature Landscape and local incomes.

While continued traditional land management is the key for the survival of the landscape and the biodiversity of the area, additional income for farm households from agro-tourism and nature tourism is very important for the long term viability of the small-scale farming communities. ADEPT is active in agro-tourism training and marketing to promote the expansion of the network of bed and breakfast accommodation, and associated activities, in the area.

If tourism development is sensitive and relatively small-scale, it needs not to detract from the special atmosphere and biodiversity of the region, but it can actually support it.

Linking visitor experience with local incomes

Tourism provides not only income for guest house owners, but also a market for many local products, in which local skills and good management are recognised and properly valued. It is an ideal way to get money directly to local producers, especially women.

There is now a wide range of food, culture and walking activities for tourists visiting the Târnava Mare area, available both to independent travellers and through tour operators. They are described in a series of booklets that can be obtained free from the Tourist Information Centre in Saschiz or downloaded from our publications section.

Activities

Transilvania Bike Trails
Pottery Workshops
Shepherding
Trekking
Meet the Bees
Meet the Bears
Visit the Blacksmith
Visit the Saxon Churches

Discover Târnava Mare

Please visit www.discovertarnavamare.org for more information regarding other activities available in the area. This website provides information, in English and Romanian, for people interested in visiting the area, and for those interested in obtaining the special local products and services of the area.
Fundatia ADEPT and local partners have established the Târnava Mare Tourist Association, promoting responsible tourism across the area.

Saschiz Tourist Information Centre

Fundatia ADEPT runs a Tourist Information Centre in Saschiz to give visitors information on the area and help them find local accommodation or F&B facilities. Local produce including jams, honey, baskets and other crafts are on sale. Postcards and other gifts are also available. Guided tours can be arranged.

Opening hours: 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm, Wednesday through Sunday
ADEPT office hours: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday

Tourist Information Centre - situated at the base of the Tower of Saschiz Fortified Church
Addresse: Str. Principala nr. 166 Saschiz, Mures 547510 • Romania
Phone: 40 (0)265 711 733
E-mail: info@discovertarnavamare.org

Related Publications

A Taste of Transylvania An overview of the Tarnava Mare area, with map
Food and Culture tours
A 12-page brochure describing local food and its traditional production in the Tarnava Mare area.
Tarnava Mare Walking brochure with detailed maps of the long-distance trail and shorter walking routes in the area.
Saschiz - The Village of Seven Churches brochure 
The Historic Countryside of the Saxon Villages of Southeast Transylvania
Guides to wildlife of the area

Related Projects

Green infrastructure in Sighișoara-Târnava Mare Natura 2000 Site – Discover Târnava Mare by Bike

Creation of a green network or infrastructure, “owned” by local communities, that will catalyse local cooperation in the development of green enterprises
Project Supported by:a Grant From Switzerland through the Swiss Contribution to the Enlarged European Union Programme Romania
Project Duration: 2013 - 2015 (2 years)

Revival of the old crafts - Saschiz Pottery Workshop

Training of young people from the Saxon Villages region of Transylvania in pottery skills in order to revive the old Saschiz pottery centre renowned for its blue ware since the 1700s.
Project Funded by: :Camelia Botnar Foundation
Project Duration: 2012 - 2017 (5 years)

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Our Strategic Partners

Biodiversity conservation and community development in Transylvania
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