Description
Perseids on the mountain: night hike to Pietrele Marunte
August 13, 2026
1
/5
⦿⦾⦾⦾⦾ (difficulty: easy)
Buscat
Starting point:
Buscat
Activity:
Night shift
Level difference:
+ 200m
Distance:
8.5km
Category:
Drumeție
Duration:
3 hours
The Story of the Route
If you like numerology, check your ascendant before making an important decision, schedule your investments based on Mercury retrograde, or know Neti Sandu personally... you haven't really come to the right place here.
We don't know astrology and we don't know what influence the Perseids will have on your love life. (probably as big as essential oils but that doesn't stop us from going to see them :)
On Thursday evening we leave Cluj for Buscat and, as night falls, we embark on a night hike to Pietrele Mărunte . We then continue to Tinovul La Poduri , on an easy route, with little difference in level, which takes us up to approximately 1,720 m altitude.
The reason for the outing is the Perseids , one of the most famous meteor showers of the year. The night of August 13-14 is one of the good nights for observations in 2026, and we want to be as far away from city lights as possible when darkness falls.
Once we get to the top, the plan becomes very simple: we find a good spot, turn off the headlights, grab a juice, and look at the sky.
We can't promise how many Perseids we'll see. (But until we see at least 5 we're not leaving home :)
"What do we do if there are clouds?"
Here we are completely at the mercy of the weather.
We can hike in the clouds. We can hike in the fog.
But organizing a tour for the Perseids and standing at 1,700 m admiring the underside of the clouds would be a bit absurd even for us.
We will monitor the forecast and cloudiness and confirm the tour schedule based on weather conditions.
Practical Details
The price includes
transport Cluj-Napoca – Buscat – Cluj-Napoca
organization and coordination of the shift
UIMLA mountain guide for the entire duration of the route
The price doesn't include
Personal food
Other expenses
If you want to find out if the tour is right for you, write us a message or if you are old-fashioned a fax (Andrei Pop – 0745605361). This time we are not going up the mountain to see the mountain. We are going up the mountain to see the sky.
Additional information
Itinerary
Our plan:
19:30 – departure from Cluj-Napoca
approx. 20:40 – arrival at Buscat and preparation for the route
20:50 – we set off towards Pietrele Marunte
approx. 21:40 – Small Stones
22:15–22:30 – we arrive at the area chosen for observations
22:30–23:30 – main break for the Perseids
approx. 23:30 – we set off towards Buscat
approx. 00:15 – return to the cars
around 01:30 – arrival in Cluj-Napoca
The times are approximate and may vary depending on the pace of the group and the conditions on the ground.
And, obviously, if the show in the sky starts right when we have to leave, we probably won't be keeping an eye on the clock.
The route does not require any special physical condition. If you exercise regularly and can walk for a few hours on mountainous terrain, you should be fine.
Important: the physical difficulty is low, but this is a night hike**. We will walk on mountain trails by headlamp and spend time on site at over 1,700 m altitude.
Required Equipment
compulsory
hiking boots or shoes with grippy soles
headlamp + charged/spare batteries + another headlamp if you have one for safety. (we can manage with one too :)
jacket / warm
water
small backpack
Highly recommended:
isoprene/small mat for standing
a snack
thin hat/buff – at 1,700 m, standing still at night, August can start to look suspiciously like October.
RON
130
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