{"id":6159,"date":"2025-10-15T10:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/?p=6159"},"modified":"2025-12-15T01:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T23:01:51","slug":"novaci-the-heart-of-traditions-in-the-pastoral-region-of-oltenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/atractii\/novaci-baza-traditiilor-din-zona-pastorala-a-olteniei\/","title":{"rendered":"Novaci, the heart of traditions in the pastoral region of Oltenia."},"content":{"rendered":"

Novaci \u2013 The Heart of Pastoral Tradition in Oltenia<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many Romanians who think of Oltenia\u2019s pastoral lands immediately think of Novaci<\/strong>. Here in the foothills Par\u00e2ng Massif<\/strong>, where the famous Transalpina road begins its climb towards the mountains, shepherds from M\u0103rginimea Sibiului once lived peacefully \u2014 until 1918.\nIn the past, when there was no tourism or forestry industry, the people of Novaci lived in what could easily have been called a forgotten settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, more and more travellers passionate about mountain landscapes, customs, and traditions are discovering Novaci.\nMany of them hardly know where to look first or which view to admire most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book \"Picturesque Romania\"<\/strong> by Alexandru Vlahu\u021b\u0103<\/strong> we find a description of Novaci as it was at the end of the last century: \"Around midday we enter Novaci \u2013 an endless village lying at the foot of the mountain, in the beautiful valley of the Gilort. White houses, thatched with straw, rise here and there among orchards. Through the middle of the village flows the Gilort River, turning mills, fulling troughs, and presses, whose murmuring echoes in the grove of poplars stretching along the water.\"<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the Transalpina was asphalted, tourists and locals had access to the Par\u00e2ng Mountains<\/strong> via Gilortului Valley<\/strong>, going through Gilortului Gorges<\/strong>. They arrived in R\u00e2nca Resort<\/strong> only after leaving behind Mount D\u00e2lbanu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the summer of 2014, when heavy floods destroyed part of the gorge and the road winding through the cliffs, the only access route to R\u00e2nca is Transalpina<\/strong>, which passes through Plaiul Novacilor<\/strong>, past Sc\u0103ri\u021ba Hill<\/strong> and over the Cerbu, Plopu, Florile-Albe and Cornesu mountains. In the past, only the shepherds would venture from there to the high pastures of Par\u00e2ng to watch over the village of Novaci.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaking the sheep up to the mountains\u201d, the shepherds\u2019 festival in Novaci.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Not being a religious holiday, \"The Sheep\u2019s Ascent to the Mountains\"<\/strong> is the day dedicated to the shepherds of Novaci. It is celebrated on the third Sunday in May, in Hiri\u0219e\u0219ti Forest<\/strong>close to the religious feast of Saints Constantine and Helen. This date is considered by locals to be the best time to take flocks of sheep up into the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1968, the local authorities wanted to organise an event in honour of the shepherds. At first it was simply called \"Day of the Shepherds\"<\/strong>. Over the years, the event has grown to be called The Shepherds\u2019 Song and Costume Festival \u2013 \u201cThe Sheep\u2019s Ascent to the Mountains\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival carries with it an old custom of the locals, transhumance<\/strong>. After spending the long winter nights on the plains of B\u0103r\u0103gan or Banat, amid blizzards, snow and rain, the shepherds return to Novaci, celebrate their day, then slowly head for the green pastures of the mountains. The road between Novaci and Par\u00e2ng is also called the old transhumance route<\/strong>. Sheep roam the mountain paths all summer until late autumn brings snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folklore, Novaci's greatest treasure.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The folklore of Novaci includes traditional songs, folk dances, shepherds\u2019 calls, and pastoral costumes<\/strong>. In the shepherd villages neighbouring Novaci, on the left side of the Gilort river, tourists can still hear the ancient language of ancestors and forefathers<\/strong>, with words like \"v\u0103ru\u021b\u0103\"<\/strong>, \"sori\u021b\u0103\"<\/strong>, \"dod\u0103\"<\/strong>, \"coan\u0103\"<\/strong>, \"\u021ba\u021b\u0103\"<\/strong> or \"leli\u021b\u0103\"<\/strong> constantly used in speech. Those interested can also find out about legends of Novaci<\/strong>... for almost everyone here knows fantastic stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folk songs, whether from Oltenia or Transylvania, are meant to convey ancient messages to listeners. The shepherds' songs from the area around Sibiu and the Novaci area of interference convey incredibly detailed information about the life of the shepherds who went to the mountains and the life of the women who stayed behind to look after the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And traditional shouted verses<\/strong> had an interesting role. To show their joy at being present at hora (traditional circle dance)<\/strong> danced every Sunday in the town centre, the people of Novaci used shouted verses adapted to the different rhythms of the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S.: If you would like to learn more about traditional music, shepherd's costumes or legends, do not hesitate to visit Novaci. For those who are undecided, we, the team TransaTravel<\/strong>, we can give them information. We have texts on everything. The curious just have to come to Novaci or ask us for information that will convince them to visit the land of the shepherds of Gorj.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Immerse yourself in the pastoral beauty of Novaci, a hidden gem at the foot of the Par\u00e2ng Massif in Oltenia, Romania.<\/p>\n

Explore the folklore, traditions and customs of this picturesque town. Learn about the \u201eSheep Climbing to the Mountain\u201d festival, where shepherds celebrate their day in the Hiri\u0219e\u0219ti Forest. Discover Novaci's rich folklore, songs, dances and legends.<\/p>\n

Plan your visit with TransaTravel and experience the charm of the shepherds of Novaci.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[212,16,213],"tags":[663,678,682,680,679,468,674,675,673,683,687,684,676,677,671,685,681,672,686],"class_list":["post-6159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arta-cultura","category-atractii","category-festivaluri-evenimente","tag-atractii-turistice","tag-cultura-pastorala","tag-folclor-romanesc","tag-gorj","tag-istorie-locala","tag-novaci","tag-obiceiuri-traditionale","tag-oierit","tag-oltenia","tag-patrimoniu-cultural","tag-romania-autentica","tag-stana","tag-traditii-locale","tag-traditii-pastorale","tag-transalpina","tag-turism-cultural","tag-turism-rural","tag-viata-pastorala","tag-zona-montana","post_format-post-format-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transatravel.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}