One-day hiking routes around Chișinău, from Codrii to Saharna

A day hike outside Chișinău is possible less than an hour’s drive away, in the Codrii forest near Lozova or on the cliffs at Orheiul Vechi, or two hours away in the Saharna gorge. However, access, rules and transport options differ. In November, the time of day matters too: daylight is short, and trails may be wet after rain.

1. Codrii Nature Reserve, Lozova

The Codrii Nature Reserve, the first reserve established in the Republic of Moldova, in 1971, protects oak, sessile oak and beech forests in the Codrii Plateau, according to Lozova City Hall. The area is not fenced, but access is permitted only with a permit.

For visitors, the administration offers an ecotourism trail of approximately 5 km, through forest and meadow. Along the way, visitors can see feeders, salt licks, a dugout, an observation tower and a site where a relict plant species grows, which the reserve describes as unique to its territory. Visits are organised, and a guide must be booked in advance by calling 0237 47 386 or 069 882 478.

The Museum of Nature, based at the Lozova headquarters, has approximately 500 exhibits: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and 23 types of nests. According to the reserve’s website, updated on 31 October 2026, the museum is open daily from 08:00 to 17:00. Guided visits must be booked in advance.

How much it costs: the rates are listed in the catalogue approved by Order No. 42-p of 9 June 2025, published on the reserve’s website. We could not open the document, so we are not publishing prices. Call when booking your visit to ask.

How to get there: by car, about 48 km and almost an hour. We could not find an up-to-date official timetable for public transport to Lozova. Check with the railway station or the reserve before setting off.

2. Orheiul Vechi: short marked trails

The Orheiul Vechi Cultural-Natural Reserve lists trails on its website, with their distance, duration and difficulty level. The most suitable for a November day trip are:

• “In the Footsteps of the Past”: a 7.5 km circuit through the heart of the reserve, easy, about 3 hours, with 12 points of interest;

• Trebujeni Landscape Reserve: a 3.4 km circuit, easy, about an hour and a half;

• Hike to the Bosie Hermitage: a 3 km circuit, difficult, about an hour;

• Medieval Town: 6.4 km, easy, about 2.5 hours;

• Trebujeni–Furceni: 8 km, easy, about 3 hours.

Longer trails, such as “Răut Paths” (22.5 km, including a “difficult” section) or Butuceni–Criuleni (27.7 km), are recommended by the reserve from spring through autumn, in dry weather. According to the reserve, some sections have no mobile phone signal and cross fields far from settlements and services.

How much it costs: admission is 20 lei for adults and 10 lei for pupils, students and pensioners. Children up to 7 years old enter free. A Romanian-speaking guide costs 200 lei for a group of up to 10 people.

How to get there: minibuses to Trebujeni leave the Central Bus Station at 08:35, 13:45 and 17:15, and services to Butuceni leave at 10:20 and 18:15. The last direct return service leaves Butuceni at 16:45, according to e-orar.md, which lists the “timetable checked: 1 November 2026”. A ticket costs about 64–65 lei. The reserve’s website lists different return times and a ticket price of 55 lei, so check at the ticket office before setting off.

3. Saharna: the monastery and waterfalls

The Holy Trinity Monastery in Saharna, in Rezina District, is on the right bank of the Dniester. Near the monastery, the Saharna stream flows through a rocky, forested gorge. According to the state news agency Moldpres, 22 waterfalls form here, and the best-known one drops from a height of about 4 metres.

We could not find an official source giving the length or marking of a trail to the waterfalls. Stick to well-trodden paths, ask at the monastery which route is safe, and avoid wet rocks. We also could not find any published entrance fee set by the monastery.

How to get there: by car, about 98 km and almost two hours. For public transport, the monastery’s website lists a Chișinău–Saharna service at 12:00 from the Northern Bus Station, or any coach to the town of Rezina. Minibuses run from Rezina to Saharna every hour, between 05:30 and 17:00. The operator Evanibus lists a Chișinău–Saharna service at 10:45, arriving at 13:00. We could not verify return times. With arrival around midday and sunset before 17:00, Saharna is better suited to an overnight trip than a day trip by public transport.

What to bring in November

• Daylight: in Chișinău, the sun sets at around 16:40 on 7 November and around 16:20 at the end of the month (editorial team’s calculation). Plan to be back at your car or the bus stop at least an hour before sunset.

• Shoes with good grip: the limestone trails at Orheiul Vechi and Saharna become slippery after rain.

• Water and snacks: there are no shops on the longer trails, and, according to the Strășeni District Council, no food services are available at Codrii.

• A charged phone and an offline map of the route: some areas have no signal. Tell someone where you are going. In an emergency, call 112.

• Mushrooms and bait: Orheiul Vechi warned in late October that forests are also home to deadly poisonous species. At the same time, the reserve placed bait containing rabies vaccine for foxes. Do not touch or move it.

What we could not verify

Prices at Codrii, public transport to Lozova, return times from Saharna and the length of the trail to the Saharna waterfalls. For this information, call the site administrations: Codrii Nature Reserve, 0237 47 386; Orheiul Vechi, +373 676 11 711; Saharna Monastery, secretariat, +373 254 78 737.