by Lonely Planet author Leif Pettersen

Vadu Izei

Accommodations in Vadu Izei Sapânta Bârsana Maramures

Vadu Izei, at the confluence of the Iza and Mara Rivers, 6km south of Sighetu Marmatiei, is the area's best base and resource for rural homestays and tours. It also has a museum in the oldest house in the village (1750). You'll find that time-warp buzz you've been looking for when you get a load of how little has changed since the 18th century - including the state of indoor plumbing. Rural villages are made up of thatched roofed homes, giant wooden church steeples, ‘pot trees’ (on which cooking pots are hung to dry) and wooden gates outside every home. Traditional crafts are still practised by wood carvers, blanket weavers and glass painters and there’s ample opportunity for you to join in.

Vadu Izei has been supported since the early 1990s by the Belgian charity Opération Villages Roumains, which originally started out as an international pressure group against Ceausescu. More recently, the village gained financial backing from the European Union’s Phare program to develop infrastructure.

In mid-July Vadu Izei and the neighboring villages of Botiza and Ieud host the Maramuzical Festival, a lively four-day international folk music festival.

The village tourism society, Fundatia OVR Agro-Tur-Art (Tel. +40 (0) 262 330 171), house No 161 at the northern end of the village, is an unrivalled source of local information. Nicolae Prisacaru (Tel. +40 (0) 262 330 093 or +40 (0) 721 046 730; prisnic at conseco dot ro) or the lovely Ramona Ardelean (Tel. +40 (0) 744 827 829; aramona at gmx dot de) arrange excellent guided tours in French or English with options such as picnics, wood-carving and/or icon-painting workshops. A full day tour is about 25 euros, plus 0.25 euros per kilometer.

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