③ #priNeamt „Bicazu Ardelean - Trout Farm - Stănile Glade”

PREAMBLE: All itineraries by car through Neamț county promoted in our application start from the heart of the city (The Royal Court). Regardless of whether they are drawn circularly or linearly, they return to Piatra-Neamț, the details of distances and time being presented below. Some of the attractions are visitable, while others that are on the route can simply be admired either from the distance or by making short detours from the main route. Feel free to decide! But it's good to know that all tourist attractions tell their own story, which is also the reason why we included in the itinerary places more or less known to the general public.

DIRECTIONS AND ORIENTATION: This touristic route will first take you to the town of Bicaz, then to the village of Bicazu Ardelean, where a beautiful wooden church with a history of over 300 years awaits you. From here you will continue towards the village of Telec, and at the fork you will turn right and keep going until you reach the Trout Farm Bistra Montana. Depending on how you organize your time and plan your day, you can dine here, but remember to call ahead for a reservation. Next to the trout farm is the information point of the Ceahlău National Park Administration, where you can purchase your access ticket to the reservation. It costs 10 lei/adult and 5 lei/child/pupil/student/pensioner, but you will need cash because the installed machine does not have the option to pay by card. In this perimeter, two forest roads intersect, and you will go to the right, following the forest road from the valley of the Bistra Mică River. It is 7km long, it is quite well maintained, it can be climbed with almost any type of car (except for very low ones) and it takes no more than an hour. In Poiana Stănile is the Hermitage of the same name and this is also where most of those who climb Ceahlău park their cars. If you have an SUV, jeep or any type of car with a high guard, the forest road continues beyond the barrier, for another 3 km, to the "hiding parking place" point. After you park your car and take everything you need with you, you will travel on route no. 7 of the Ceahlău Massif, the shortest and easiest of them all. Our recommendation is to spend the night at Cabana Dochia, to enjoy this whole experience in peace.

DISTANCE AND TIME: 60 km (linear route, so 120 km round trip on the same route) / 2 hours by car and another 2 hours on the mountain route (only one way in both cases). We must mention that we did not take into account the possible visit to the wooden church and/or lunch at the trout farm.

EXTENSION: If you made it to the Dochia Hut, regardless of whether you spend a night here or not, it would be a shame not to climb the Toaca Peak. And don't be put off by the 519 steps at the base. These are extremely photogenic and we're sure you'll take lots of great pictures to frame. As for the view from the top, it is truly overwhelming. You will be able to admire the entire plateau of the Ceahlău Massif, the Panaghia rock (one of the symbols of the mountain), the Izvorul Muntelui lake (considered the sea of the Carpathians) and many other settlements, including the city of Piatra Neamț (only 30 km away in a straight line).

FOOD & DRINK: The locations on the route where you can eat and drink and that we can recommend are: the trout farm Cheița near Bicaz, the trout farm Bistra Montana from Telec or the restaurant at the Dochia Hut. You can find them on Google Maps along with many other restaurants in the vicinity of the city. Instead, those in Piatra-Neamț are also listed in the EAT & DRINK section of the application.