Campers are still a privileged species here in Romania. Except some easily identifiable locations, such as reservations and parks – which have their own rules you need to consult beforehand – and private properties, you may raise your tent in just about any location you might consider suitable for you. It does not matter if you raise it in a clearance in the woods, on the valley floor next to a rivulet or on an alpine meadow, camping (summer mainly) is at the heart or Romanian mountain tours. So, feel free to put your tent in your backpack and go about camping!
Camping in the vicinity of mountain huts or in parks it is usually allowed and in some cases you may need to pay either a small tent fee or a fee per person.
There are though some RULES YOU SHOULD OBSERVE while camping on the mountain. They are rather universal in character:
- Do not throw the garbage on the mountain and in the water! Carry every waste you produce while on the mountains and bring it down to where special collection facilities are in place. Thus we all can enjoy a clean landscape.
- Do not cut trees or bushes for the evening fire! Usually you should be able to find dry branches fallen during the last autumn and winter and they are better.
- If a hearth is already in place do not make another one.
- Fellow campers go camping because they like being in the wild and to escape the crowded and noisy cities so a noisy city like atmosphere is not at all appropriate.
- While camping near huts or in the woods, if the camping places are not fence protected, put your food bags in some tall trees around. The dogs won’t steal it and the bears will steal it (but will leave you alone). The chances for these to happen are low. But hey, do you really want to test them?
So, the point here is to leave as little trace as possible of your passing and keep the mountains clean as they should be.