We recommend you to take a walk in Piatra Neamt, on the road that goes to “Peste Vale” Entertainment Complex. The magic of autumn changed nature. Yellow and rusty-red leaves fall from trees and create a thick carpet on the road. A gentle breeze caresses your face and the sun rays become more obvious through the empty branches.

The area is truly special and once you leave the town behind you’ll have the impression that you are in a different world. The houses along this road are mostly old and a suit-sour smell of small apples and grapes come from the yards mixed with the smell of smoke rising from the chimneys.

Autumn is the season of color. Now when this perfect photographic season comes to an end and the cold days of winter are soon to come there is still time for some walks through the thick carpet of leaves. So, grab your photo camera, dress up to resist the cold and take a walk on this magical road from Piatra Neamt.

The religious settlement from Agapia is located on the valley of Agapia – Topolita creek, at the foot of Magura Hill and is the only monastery from Romania that has also the name of “Christian love”.

The road to the monastery offers picturesque images that in autumn look really spectacular. The sea of green grass becomes yellow, the flowers bend over to kiss the ground and the leaves change their colors from green to yellow and rusty-red.

Autumn toward Agapia 2011, Neamt County

Once you reach Agapia village you’ll see traditional old houses where the nuns from the monastery live. Among the almost 300 houses you’ll also find the memorial house of Alexandru Vlahuta. Near Agapia Monastery there are two other touristic attractions – “Codrii de Arama” (The Copper forest) and “Codrii de Argint” (The Silver forest).

Agapia area with its beautiful natural environments and touristic attractions like the monastery and the hermitage offers to tourists or pilgrims a chance to take a walk through some great environments and enjoy a special autumn day.

The trail starts near the national road that goes through Cheile Bicazului and takes you near Maria’s Rock where you can photograph massive boulders. After just few minutes the trail will exit the forest into a beautiful plane called Saua Tifra that will offer you an incredible view to the entire Bicajel valley.

The trail will take you through Bicajel village where you’ll see traditional houses, haystacks and traditional barns that are a delight to photograph. The route will offer the chance of seeing some great autumn scenery with tunnels formed by the branches of the trees or large planes with only few beautifully colored trees in the middle.

From the road that goes through Bicajel village you’ll admire Suhardul Mic Peak and a rock formation called the Fairies Garden (on the right of Suhardul Mic). The road reaches Lacul Rosu resort from where you’ll return on the asphalted national road to the starting point of the route.

Bistrita Monastery is located in Bistrita village, at 8 km from Piatra Neamt. The monastery was built by ruler Alexandru cel Bun and it’s one of the oldest monasteries from Neamt County. Here you’ll find the religious icon of St. Ana.

Bisericani Monastery is located on Pietrosu Mountain, at 12 km from Piatra Neamt. Among those that contributed to the building of this religious settlement we find rulers Alexandru cel Bun, Stefan cel Mare, Stefanita Voda, Petru Rares and Alexandru Lapusneanu.

Pangarati Monastery is located in Pangarati commune near Dimitrie Leonida Hydroelectric. The church of the monastery dates from the XV century and presents an unique architecture with two churches built on top of each other.

Autumn toward Bicaz 2011, Neamt County

Pangarati Lake is located on Bistrita Valley, near Stanisoara and Gotmanu Mountains. The lake has a great importance for the migrating birds that traverse the area.

The Yew Reservation is located in Pangarati commune and stretches on a surface of about 1,5 ha. This is one of the three reservations of this kind from Romania, with 80 years old yew trees.

The villages Magazia and Cracaul Negru impresses the visitor because of their traditional architecture, with wood houses covered with traditional materials and sculpted fences with beautifully decorated gates.

In these parts much of the traditional occupations are still kept alive. A walk through these parts will offer you a chance of seeing a glimpse of the past mixed with the present day way of life.

The road from Cracaul Negru to Cuejdel Lake, Neamt County

From Magazia village the route goes on the forestry road Paraul Gardului . The road twists through trees and rocks until it reaches the lake. Cuejdel Lake was formed in few stages on the middle course of Cuejdel creek and is the biggest natural dam lake from Romania.
Visiting these places on a bike will offer you the chance to experience the life from these parts and see the beautiful nature that surrounds these villages.

Bistrita Monastery – located at a distance of 8 km on the west of Piatra Neamt, on the national road number 15 to Bicaz, in Alexandru cel Bun village, Bistrita monastery lasted for over 600 years despite the hardships of history. Bistrita monastery has a great historical and archeological value because it’s one of the oldest monasteries of Neamt County and Romania.

Here we can find the tombs of some great Romanian princes. At Bistrita monastery there is The Icon of St. Ana – this is the holy icon that was a gift from the emperor Manuel II Paleologul to Alexandru cel Bun in 1407.The museum of Bistrita monastery was inaugurated in 1932 and it has coins of the era, icons from the centuries XVI-XVIII, sculptures, fresco, remains of royal clothing and other objects founded in the royal chapel.

Bisericani Monastery – is placed in the area of the mountain Pietrosu, at an altitude of 650 m, and at 12 km west from Piatra Neamt, on the national road that links Piatra Neamt with Bicaz. The road goes up in a series of serpentines, while you discover the whole splendor of the valley of river Bistrita. At one point you’ll discover the towers of the monastery, almost hidden behind the trees. At first, the place where we find today the monastery, it seems that there was a hermitage of Bistrita Monastery.

Only in 1498, Joseph left the monastery from Bistrita and together with other monks began to build a church here. Among the founders of this monastery we can also find Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander the Good), Stefan cel Mare (Stefan the Great), Stefan Voda (Prince Stefan), Petru Rares and Alexandru Lapusneanu.

The church of the monastery is well known for the wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church which is decorated with very beautiful icons and where the rich chromatic of the ornaments is in contrast with the icons painted on more plain colors. Another feature of this wall is the beauty of the holy doors that are sculpted in a very beautiful way on the part facing the church.

Pangarati Monastery – is located near the road DN15 (National Road number 15) that links the towns Piatra Neamt and Bicaz, near the hydroelectric from Stejaru.Pangarati Monastery is first mentioned at the beginning of the XV century in the year 1460 when the monk Simeon, which was one of the advisers of ruler Stefan cel Mare, built here the first wooden church.The name of “Pangarati” comes from a monk named Pangratie, thinks the historian Nicolae Iorga.

The old church from Pangarati is built from stone. The big proportions from the outside are lost when you enter the building. The thing that makes it unique is that in fact there are two churches built one on top of the other. The church from Pangarati Monastery has a unique architecture: the windows are from wood with an iron grate. The exterior walls of the church are whitewashed.