Tourist route "Moldova’s Little Tuscany " was launched at the Mircești winery
Lovers of adventure, cycling and running in nature will have the opportunity to discover the picturesque landscapes of the Republic of Moldova and practice these activities on a new hiking trail. Entitled "Moldova's Little Tuscany", the new route, about 80 kilometers long, connects a winery to the Sculeni border crossing. The route includes more than 20 tourist attractions and has been designed to encourage extended stays in the region, offering accommodation options at rural guesthouses.
The 80-kilometer distance between Mircești and Sculeni is the part of the tourist route up to the border, which will allow the interconnection of tourist routes from the Republic of Moldova with European tourist networks. According to the creators of the project, this segment was specifically chosen because it unites several wineries, passes by a nature reserve and includes several tourist attractions.
"This route is created for lovers of hiking, cycling or with an ATV or car ride, because the routes are designed on local roads, with as few intersections with national roads as possible, I mean the safety of cyclists. It is a route that offers maximum safety, practically every three kilometers there are also fuel points, village shops, and hospitals", said the president of the Sports Association, Iulian Bercu.
The project promotes cross-border cooperation with Romania. The organizers say they want to extend the route to Iași, where there are some wineries and tourist locations, to be included in a larger circuit.
"Being a wine-growing country and having over 200 wineries, we are also members of the ITER VITIS Federation, the international federation of wine routes and with this aspect, we want to expand this wine-growing, cycling and hiking route and together with Romania develop it and to expand it on the Romanian market, so that the tourists who come to visit Romania, extend their stay to the Republic of Moldova", says the director of the National Inbound and Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova, Elena Stepanov.
Travellers will be guided by information panels located along the route and can use the itinerary available online. The project will provide major opportunities for tourism in the Republic of Moldova.
"It is an excellent opportunity for Moldovans to enjoy nature and also because this location is close to the border with Romania. I can also see Romanians coming here to enjoy nature. It's an excellent opportunity for tourism, people from Chisinau can come on weekends, and enjoy wine, food and nature", said PCRR coordinator Kirg Ramer.
"Unfortunately, the last four, five years have not been favourable for tourism in the Republic of Moldova because of the pandemic and because of the war on the border, but in the last three years we have a dynamic, practically growing by five, ten percent per year", said the founder of the winery, Arcadie Foșnea.
The route was developed with the support of the Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Project, backed by USAID, as part of the commitment to contribute to sustainable tourism development in the Republic of Moldova. To date, 17 adventure and soft experience routes have been developed in our country, totalling over 400 kilometres of hiking and cycling routes connecting over 90 tourist attractions.
