Transylvania - Romania and Bulgaria - page 194

Information
There is no tourist information office in Poiana Braşov; check websites such as
www.poiana-brasov.ro or www.poiana.info.ro (in Romanian). The local Salvamont (
0725-826 688; Cabana Cristianul Mare) will come to the rescue any time of the day in
case of emergency.
Getting There & Away
From Braşov, bus 20 (3.50 lei, 20 minutes, every 30 minutes) runs from the Livada Poştei
bus stop, opposite the County Library at the western end of B-dul Eroilor, to Poiana
Braşov.
Râşnov
Eighteen kilometres south of Braşov, the hilltop ruins of 13th-century Râşnov fortress
(Cetatea Râşnov; admission 10 lei; 9am-8pm May-Oct, to 6pm Nov-Apr) , built by
Teutonic Knights as protection against Tartar and Turkish invasion, feel considerably less
touristy than Bran's. Visitors can wander the grounds, where there's a church, a jail and
nice views of the mountains. A small museum includes gruesome prints of torture, while
there's also a 17th-century, 146m-deep well built by Turkish prisoners, who were prom-
ised freedom once it was completed (it took them 17 years!). The Info Turist Centre (
0740-510 665; [e-mail]; Str Republicii 13; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri)
is 50m from the main square.
Buses bound for Bran come within 200m of the centre of Râşnov; a few 'Râşnov' buses
go through it - finishing at the edge of town.
Zărneşti
POP 26,370
There's a bit of tumbleweed blowing through low-slung, rustic Zărneşti, for not much
happens save for trekkers alighting from Braşov, bound for stunning Piatra Craiului Na-