The “Copiii in Sanul Familiei” Association was set up by a British charity to provide a home for 17 Romanian children in a healthy, mountain environment - Harja village, in the pretty Oituz Valley. In order to ensure these children a long-term future and career, the Association has bought a small farmstead at the edge of the village and turned it into a friendly guesthouse. The eldest of the children are already at high school where they are training to manage the guesthouse and offer a range of tourist services to visitors. Income from the guesthouse and local ecotourism activities will provide funding for the other children in the Association’s care, as well as wages for the young people running the guesthouse.

All the children and young people here know the trails and footpaths in the mountains and forests surrounding the Oituz Valley, and have been brought up with rural farming techniques and local traditions. They all help with homestead and farm activities, including care of domestic animals and haymaking.

The Trifoi guesthouse is a friendly, 2-bedroomed house with a total of 7 beds, converted from the old farmstead whilst retaining its traditional charm and character – and the old beams! It can be hired as a complete house, or by the room – for short or long stays. Visitors can have meals cooked for them using local, organically-grown produce (much of it from the Association’s own land), or they can self-cater using the well-equipped kitchen.

The Association’s young people and staff speak good English and will look after visitors with welcoming Harja hospitality. They can provide a wide range of local activities, day trips, hikes, cart rides, bird watching, wild fruit picking, and much more.

Harja village nestles in the pretty Oituz Valley about half-way between the cities of Brasov (100 kms SW) and Bacau (80 kms NE). You can get to Harja by train from Bucuresti to Onesti or Brasov and then by bus, or the Association can collect you from Onesti or Brasov by Land Rover.

The Nemira and Ciuc Mountains lie to the north and west, with the Vrancea Mountains to the south. These wild areas are well populated by bears, wolves, wild boar, red deer and wild cats, and are excellent places for bird watching, looking for wild flowers and butterflies, and for collecting mushrooms and forest fruit.

The Trifoi guesthouse is hidden at the edge of Harja village in the quiet side valley, through which runs the Nistoroaiei brook. From the village centre you take a track passing by the cottages of the Association’s small children’s home, then you cross the Oituz River bridge and head into the Nistoroaiei valley. The Trifoi pension is the last house on the right-hand side, surrounded by forest and set in a lovely garden with a wonderful view of the village, and its own wild flowers and fruit trees.

All year round

• 2 comfortable bedrooms - one with 2 beds, the other with 3 beds
• friendly living room, with a fold-out sofa bed for an extra 2 people if required
• a kitchen with all facilities for self catering
• meals served on request - using local, organically-grown produce
• bright terrace which doubles as an open air dining room
• barbecue area
• own parking
• large garden full of fruit trees and wild flowers, and surrounded by forest
• a burbling stream passing by

• Romanian and Hungarian history, culture, tradition, folklore, music, and dancing
• Specialised guiding
• Attractive trips and hikes in the mountains, including a 7 km walk across the Nemira Hills to Slanic Moldova
• Nature trails
• Flora and fauna expeditions (many rare species of wild flowers can be seen at certain times of the year)
• Butterflies
• Bird watching
• Making hay
• Horse-sledging
• Horse and cart rides
• Shops selling ecological products (cheese, bilberry and raspberry jam, preserves, etc.)
• Local transport and transfers from/to train stations by Land Rover or car