Sinaia
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Sinaia (population: 14,636), one of the most beautiful mountain resorts of Romanian, presents itself to the visitor with a past rich in cultural and social events. Former Royal Summer Residence and bearing a holy name – the name of Mount Sinai – a name that was given for the first time to the homonymous monastery by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino (XVII Century) - Sinaia combines in a unique way the beauty of nature with the beauty of the architectural art. Here it is found the Peleş castle, the summer residence of king Carol I of Romania.
The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery around which the town was built. The monastery is in turn named after biblical Mount Sinai.
Sinaia is about 60 km North-West of Ploiesti and 50 km South of Brasov, in a mountainous area on the Prahova river valley, the altitude of the city varies between 767 m and 860 m.
Sinaia was also the summer residence, villa Luminis, of the great Romanian composer George Enescu.
Among the touristic landmark, most important are the Peleş Castle, the Pelişor, the Sinaia Monastery, Sinaia Casino, Sinaia train station, Franz Joseph and Saint Anne Cliffs.
The climate
The climate is a typical one, characteristic to low altitude mountain passage. Annual average temperature: 8 °C; Average temperature in June: 15 °C; Average temperature in January: -4 °C. Summers are bracing, and, in the first part of the season, very rainy. Winters are relatively mild, with heavy snow. Average annual rainfall is 900 mm, having a maximum registered in June (173 mm). Minimum of rainfall and nebulosity could be remarked in September (55 mm) and February (40mm). The snow layer installs itself homogenously starting usually from November and it melts in a period of time comprised in the interval March-April, sometimes at the beginning of May. The thickness of the snow layer varies between 20 centimeters and 3 meters in upper altitude areas. During the last years, Sinaia has known the global climatic changes - changes that meant shorter summers, with temperatures that frequently went over 30 °C , a slight missing of springs and autumns, and with relatively longer winters ( end of October – beginning of May), colder winters with entire weeks dominated by frost ( -19 °C to -25 °C) and numerous blizzards.
Natural cure factors
Sinaia has a tonic and stimulating bio-climate, good for human organism, with a very clean air, rich in oxygen, ultraviolet radiations and negative ionization. There are also some mineral springs (on Cainelui Valley) springs that have sulphur-ferric mineral water and contain other soluble minerals.
Nature preservation
On Sinaia town territory and on its surroundings there are restrictions established regarding cutting down or picking up flora. No tree cut down is allowed. It is forbidden to pick up any alpine plants, being severely punished the gathering of the next plants: Mountain Peony (Rhododendron Kotsky), The Peak Flower (Leontopodium Alpinum), and the Yellow Gentiana (Gentiana Lutea). Tourists’ camping is to be done only in authorized places, following the necessary and compulsory protection standards. The mountainous area of Sinaia town is held in the Bucegi Natural Park patrimony. Bucegi Natural Park covers a total surface of 326.63 square kilometres, out of which 58.05 square kilometres are under strict protection, sheltering natural monuments. Bucegi Natural Preserve area includes all the abrupt areas of the next mountains: Varful cu Dor, Furnica, and Piatra Arsa. Following the purpose of ensuring tourists’ protection, the mountainous area is continuously patrolled by Mountain Rescue Patrols as well as by members of the Mountain Police. On the territory of Sinaia town and on its surrounding areas, the basic principle of tourists’ behavior has to be the one of avoiding leaving any traces of the visit, in the town or on the mountain area.
At the entrance in Cumpatu district, one can find the botanical reservation “Sinaia alder-tree grove” placed under the Romanian Academy – the Bucharest Biology Institute protection. In the same district, there is also another research station for the ecology under the high patronage of UNESCO – J.Y.Cousteau, belonging to Bucharest University, which includes also a museum of Bucegi Mountains fauna, in a laboratory for nature protection.