Winter in Gura Humorului: the Șoimul slope, sledging, carol singers and long evenings at the gazebo

Snow usually reaches Gura Humorului in December and stays until March. Our courtyard turns white, the fir hedge bends under it, and the gazebo, with the heating on, becomes the place where every day ends. Below is what we do in winter, in the order we would suggest to a guest coming for a week.

The Șoimul slope, 7 minutes from the villas

The town's ski slope is in Ariniș Park, 3 km from us. It is not big, but it is well made: about 1.4 km long, 285 m of vertical drop, medium difficulty, with snow cannons and floodlights. The chairlift takes 9 minutes to reach 762 m. At the top is the observation tower, and from the chair you see the town and the Moldova valley under snow.

• Chairlift hours: in ski season, daily, usually from 9 or 10 until 5 pm, with night skiing at weekends. Check the slope's page before you go, hours change with the weather.
• Guide prices: 35 lei per ride up for adults, 25 lei for children, day passes available in season
• Rentals: at the bottom of the slope there are rental shops for skis, boots and snowboards, plus instructors for children
• Tip: early mornings and weekdays the slope is almost empty. Saturday afternoons bring the crowd from Suceava.

If you want longer runs, Vatra Dornei is an hour and a half by car, with the Veverița slope of almost 3 km. Worth a day trip, not a base.

Sledging, right next to the house

With small children, sledging beats skiing. In Ariniș, next to the slope, there is a gentle hill where locals go with their sledges. And the hay meadow behind the villas, when the snow is good, is perfect for a sledge. Bring your own or ask us, we can tell you where to rent them in town.

The monasteries under snow

Voroneț and Humor are 10 minutes from us and look different in winter. Voroneț blue against snow is the finest contrast in Bucovina, and the courtyards, crowded in summer, are almost empty. Go after 11, when the sun clears the hill and lights the west wall.

If it is snowing hard, go to Cacica, 25 minutes away, where the old salt mine stays at 10 degrees no matter what happens outside. We wrote about it in our guide to days with children.

Christmas and New Year, the way they are kept in Humor

This is why many guests come in the last week of the year. Bucovina has kept its winter customs better than any other part of the country, and the Humor area has a few of its own.

• Carol singing starts on the evening of 24 December. Groups of children, then of young men, go from house to house. If you are at the villas that evening, they will stop at our gate too. Have sweet bread, apples and small change ready.
• The straw bear is a custom kept only around Humor. On the night of 31 December a young man is dressed head to toe in ropes twisted from wheat straw and walks with the bear troupe all night. It is the oldest form of the bear dance in Romania.
• The goat, with its wooden mask and bells, is the dance specific to Gura Humorului. In the mountain towns, Câmpulung and Dorna, it is the stag.
• The masked troupes, the "handsome ones" in military uniforms with epaulettes and the "ugly ones" with masks of old women, old men and doctors, take to the streets on 31 December and 1 January. The parade is in the town centre, usually around midday.

If you want to catch all of this, book early. The last week of the year fills up by spring.

The evenings

After a day outside, winter is lived in the courtyard. The gazebo is heated and seats everyone, the barbecue works in January too, and the villa kitchen has everything you need for a pot of soup. If you like, we can tell you where to buy smoked sausages and burduf cheese at the town market. There is more in our article on Bucovina food.

Before you set off

• Winter tyres are compulsory on the roads here, and in heavy snow carry chains. The access to the villas is paved to the gate and we clear it after every snowfall.
• The train stops at Gura Humorului Oraș, on the Suceava to Vatra Dornei line. We pick you up from the station if you tell us the time.
• Clothes. January nights drop to minus 15. Bring layers, not one thick jacket.
• Daylight. The sun sets around 4:30 pm in December. Plan the slope and the monasteries for the morning and keep the salt mine or a museum for the afternoon.

Write to us with your dates and we will tell you how the snow looks and whether the slope is open. We have the chairlift webcam on our phones.