Mocănița Maramureș - reviews,open hours,photo spots,things to do | WanderBoat AI Trip Planner

Nice experience! I recommend buying tickets online. On Sunday I checked for Tuesday tickets and it was all sold out. On Wednesday we took the 11am steam train, it returned at 4pm, so round trip this train ride is 5 hrs. You stop 3 times total. I bought the tickets with the meal and it was very convenient, at the first stop (30 min) we just used the coupons to get a placinta (which is like a fried dough with cheese, it’s delicious!). 2nd stop was at the end, there was a 1 hr break with food as well, lots of meat and some traditional Romanian music and traditional dressed dancers to welcome you. While you eat the train turns around to go back. You stop again at the same stop point as the first, for only about 15 min, enough time to grab a drink or use the restroom. Ticket was about $33 USD pp, great value for the cost, for train service and plenty food and drinks were included in the price. They recommend arriving 30 min before your train leaves, to collect your tickets at the ticket office. But we ran into some traffic and almost missed the train! I would recommend planning to arrive 1 hr before to account for the traffic in the area and to get your tickets and good seats. Once you sit, that is your seat for the entire ride. Overall my group really enjoyed this and would recommend!

Christina PovianChristina Povian

10

5 ore și jumătate a durat călătoria făcută pe Valea Vaserului (Munții Maramureșului) cu mocănița maramureșeană trasă de o locomotivă cu aburi, autentică. Traseul este deosebit de frumos, dovedit prin atmosfera și reacția turiștilor copleșiți de peisaj și entuziasmați de vechile locomotive pufăitoare. Primii 32 Km ai căii ferate forestieră (CFF, ecartament îngust austro-ungar, de 760 mm) au fost construiți în perioada 1930-1933, rețeaua fiind extinsă până în 1961 la 49 Km pentru a facilita exploatarea imenselor păduri greu accesibile (circa 40.000 hectare) din bazinul Văii Vaser. Anterior, lemnul acestor păduri a fost tranportat prin plutărit, mai ales după anul 1775 când Imperiul Habsburgic a cumpărat circa 19.000 ha și a adus coloniști de origine germană din zona Zips (de unde și numele de ”țipțeri” date acestei minorități și a râului din germanul Wasser = apă). Trecerea la CFF a fost impusă de catastrola viitură din 1929 care a afectat amenajările pentru plutărit (lacuri, haituri). Deși în România mai sunt și alte căi ferate înguste menținute și folosite în scop turistic (traseu de 2 x 21,6 Km, Vișeu de Sus - Paltin), aceasta este singura care este efectiv folosită și în scop forestier. Excursia a cuprins următoarele momente principale: - Studierea în Gara CFF Vișeu de Sus a două locomotive cu aburi construite în 1921 în Austria și în Ungaria. - Îmbarcarea și scurte explicații turistice oferite de o fată care este și controlor de bilete - Plecarea, parcurgerea zonei locuite, săteni lucrând în grădină, după care valea se îngustează și casele devin răzlețe - Microbuz transformat în mijloc de transport feroviar - Scurtă oprire în halta Valea Scradei, 6,8 km - Vaci trecând prin apă - Oprire în halta Novăț, la 12,4 km. Detalii de exterior, dar și în ”cabină” cu locomotiva noastră, fabricată la Reșița în anul 1955 (150 CP, viteza maximă 30 km/h). Consumul obișnuit pentru 20 km este de 7m steri de lemn, 6 mc apă, 30 kg cărbune, 15 l ulei. - Parcurgem o zonă îngustă, fără case, cu stânci, ”cascade” amenajate pentru păstrăvi - Zonă de defileu cu pereți verticali foarte apropiați de vagoane - Lucrări genistice din perioada celui de Al Doilea Război Mondial - Probabil în zona Novicior (20,6 km) mocănița trece pe sub o poartă maramureșeană situată lângă o troiță - Tânăr ținând caii ca să nu se sperie de locomotivă - Ciobani cu turma de oi, vaci și câini, ”cântând” într-un fel de goarnă - Oprire de circa o oră jumătate la Paltin (21,6 km), stația turistică finală. Aici se poate lua masa, iar turiștii care au cumpărat ”Mocănița Special” au un meniu complet. În haltă este deja oprit un tren cu turiști tras de o locomotivă cu aburi făcută la Reghin în 1987 (1985 ?). Sosește al treilea tren cu turiști tras de o locomotivă cu aburi făcută la Regin în 1954 și apoi alt tren, dar acesta tras de o locomotivă mai nouă, diesel. Alăturat, pe o platformă dansează excepțional tineri în costume tradiționale maramureșene. Se poate vizita Muzeul care prezintă informații referitoare la exploatarea forestieră de-a lungul timpului, dar și evenimente legate de cele două războaie mondiale și de rezistența armată anticomunistă din anii 1944-1962. În zona haltei este amenajat un traseu scurt, cu punct de belvedere.

Lucian IonescuLucian Ionescu

70

It's overrated... IMHO, this ride is only for the persons who know how to appreciate the age of the train and the uniqueness of the steam locomotive. But its uniqueness is not capitalized at its value. There is no guide to enter you in the times when this train was the only one available, it's extremely boring to sit almost 3 hours until the final station and 2 hours back with only the creaking sound of the wood the wagon is made of. A good thing is that almost everywhere where there is an announcement or something like that, it is also written in English. The landscape is nice, but far from other places you can see in the country. The staff can be a bit nicer, but I guess they won't be because people will be going there and they will have profit, so why change anything?! 🙄 As a personal conclusion, if the ride would have been at least half shorter, if there would have been a guide to tell us a story and interesting facts about Mocanita, if the food from the last station would have been a bit more varied and if there would have been less time when you couldn't do anything, just sit and wait, then I would have actually enjoyed it, and I would have given it a 5-star. Maybe I will return in 2-3 decades, hopefully to see some changes.

Diana SaadeddineDiana Saadeddine

60

A nice tourist attraction, which unfortunately turned into a disappointment for us. Very nice site to park in well organized departure station, but as soon as you step on that train, you are now a bit of a captive audience and fo not expect the same service anymore. The main issue for us was the very strong bout of food poisoning we got from the low quality and possibly tainted meats that were served at noon. Given the heat this summer, it is possible that the lack of cold storage at the arrival station was the issue. But it was also obvious that that meal did not cost a lot and might be the issue in the first place. The scenery is nice, but not spectacular. There is absolutely no explanation other than a barely accessible and small museum cabin at the noon stop station, displaying a few pics and explanations on the history of the valley. The train cars are equipped with the sound system, not plugged, which could be used for guided comments during the long ride through the windy valley. This jewel of Maramureș desserves better.

Dan NDan N

00

What an amazing day! Even if you're not interested in trains I think you would like this experience because the ride up through the valleys close to the river was very scenic. You could also get small glimces at Romanian everyday lifes as the Train went through the small village and backyards along the railroad. The train leaves kinda early in the morning and it was kinda cold (we went in the middle of september) so we should have brought more clothes. But after the first stop we got a cup of coffee and some bakery, plus we had some time in the sun. We also bought a shot of palinka witch warmed us up good. We chose the open wagon without windows, wich I really recomends if the weather alows it. When we where headed back the weather was warm enough to just wear a T-shirt even in the open wagon. At the end station we got a nice meal. Theres is not a lot of information about the history of the trains and railroad (that I could find) but the technicians are happy to answer questions if you ask. Our train was from 1985.

Jostein MyklebustJostein Myklebust

20

Visited on a Tuesday in late September and the train was packed, when almost everywhere else in Maramureș was practically deserted. Get there a good 30 minutes before the train leaves to choose a seat. If you sit towards the front of the train on the way up, you'll get dusted with soot from the engine! Best views are from the left hand side of the train. You'll likely have the same views on the return journey, as the engine recouples to the other end of the train, rather than the whole train turning around. We walked further down the track for a riverside packed lunch and got to see the whole manoeuvre. There is about an hour at the top for a wander around. The train is great fun, but there's no opportunity for a long walk at the top, which is a shame. On the return we snooped around the railway yard, which is an amazing experience: full of all kinds of old engines, including converted transit vans and even a Soviet era limo. And the unfiltered wheat beer at the station cafe is delicious.

Steven MSteven M

00