Peak 28 | Bălănești Hill, Moldova | 430m | 6th July 2019
- Adam Stevenson
- Jul 6, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 21, 2019
We were now in a part of Europe that traditional Western tourism doesn't seem to reach. Added to that we were heading to a location right out into the remote countryside of Moldova.
Quick Summary
• Start point - Bălănești
• Route taken - Farmers Track
• Total ascent - 100 m (Estimated)
• Total length - 3.5 km round trip
• Total time for the climb - 1 hour
• Expense category - #Low
• Equipment - #None
• Difficulty - #Level1 of 5
• Enjoyment - #1star of 5*
Reaching the highest point of Moldova
Moldova was the first place I entered on this trip where I actually felt outside of Europe because it was so different from everything else I'd been through. We were greeted into the country by a drunk border officer in which we had to bribe with €20 just to get through, and that kind of set the tone for my experiences here.
Arriving in the village of Bălănești we discovered that Google maps become pretty unreliable and optimistic about what roads we could get down. Even in our 4x4, we were struggling and we ended up getting stuck on one occasion and lost several times.
Eventually, we passed a woman sat on the bench and we pulled over to ask for directions. Knowing that there's not a chance she spoke any English, I instead showed her our book with the picture of the hill and she pointed us along a road that only a serious off-road vehicle or tractor could go up. We left the car and continued the rest on foot.
It probably took 20 mins or so from here to reach the phone mast that marks the high point.
The summit area is pretty flat and there are actually two masts in the field. One looked disused with a gap in the fence. So I decided to try to get one last view of the sunset and climbed up the ladder as much as I dared.
This was the view I was rewarded with.
We didn't stay here long. It was going to be dark soon and after seeing the poor state of the roads on the way in, we wanted to get as much done as we could in some light.
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