Romania Inedit — Better

To pull this off, do the opposite of what travel apps tell you.

Go in September: May is rainy, August is packed (locals vacation on the coast). September is golden. The grapes are being harvested, the summer heat is gone, and the inedit locations are empty.

The cliché: Busloads of photographers harassing elderly locals in wooden hats. The inedit better: The Apuseni National Park and the Land of the Moților. This is where Romania gets weird (in a good way). The Apuseni is a karst wonderland with 4,000 caves. You can take a local guide through Scărișoara Cave (home to a 3,500-year-old glacier) or go spelunking in Vântului Cave (Cave of the Winds). This is where you sleep in a pensiune where the owner makes palincă (plum brandy) at 70% alcohol and insists you sing folk songs until 2 AM. That is inedit. romania inedit better

(Alternative: “România Inedit – Beyond the Postcard”) To pull this off, do the opposite of

The cliché: Top Gear’s "best road in the world" (now a slow-moving caravan of rental Dacias). The inedit better: The Transalpina (DN67C). It is higher (reaching 2,145 meters), older (built by the Romans), and emptier. Known as the "King’s Road," it cuts through the Parâng Mountains with a stark, lunar beauty. Stop at the Obârșia Lotrului monastery. Stay overnight in a traditional stână (shepherd’s hut) in Rânca. You will see more wild horses than rental cars. Go in September: May is rainy, August is