The villages of Preluca Nouă, Aspra and Preluca Veche stretch along tens of kilometers on Dealul Copalnic at altitudes between 600 and 800 meters, with a total population of almost 500 inhabitants, growing rapidly with the modernization of communication routes.

Documented since the beginning of the 17th century, the three villages were until 15 years ago, difficult to access, with stone or dirt roads in places. With the paving of the roads, the construction of bridges and culverts, the lives of the people in these localities changed radically. The places became more accessible, locals started to buy agricultural machinery to work the land more easily, and the townspeople became interested in buying land and built new houses, small tourist guesthouses, and some places even ended up being used for annual educational camps.

After climbing the winding road surrounded by shady forest, you reach the top of a large plateau that offers the eye a panoramic view of the plains and mountains of Maramures County.

The Tamas family has a farm near the plateau, hidden in the shade of some old trees, and the road to the house is covered with small, dense stones. Several generations have lived only from working in the fields, raising animals - cows, pigs, horses - and selling a large part of the goods collected over the year on the market. The farmyard is full of agricultural machinery, most of it second-hand, a tractor, but also a cart that seems to be used less often.

'This is what we live on even now. From working in the fields. From what nature gives us, from the animals we raise, then sell them. Our work starts early in the morning, we celebrate holidays, but animals don't know about holidays and we have to take care of them. We have gotten used to the little we have, but it's a little we work hard for. We raise animals, we have hayfields, we even grow wheat where possible. We work so we can live. The field and the farm keep our house and life afloat,' says Mia Tămas, aged 43, accompanied by a child who walks barefoot in the grass.

While she was talking to us, her husband and a relative were trying to repair one of the lawn mowers.

Until almost 2000, the locals of the three villages were famous for the plum palinca they made, and in recent years, the sheep's and urda cheese from some sheepfolds has become the most sought-after product on the markets in Baia Mare.

We met the almost octogenarian Gheorghe Butuza on the crest of a sun-scorched hill with dry grass, tending to the cattle in the field, accompanied by his niece who had come to visit from Germany.

'The world has changed a lot. People have changed even more, everyone wants to live as modernly as possible, as well as possible. Agriculture on these hills here is a bit difficult to do, you have to work hard to get anything. 40 years ago, there were no machines here, everything was done manually. Mowing, weeding, gathering, bringing from the field with horses, everything, but all by hand. Now those who can afford it have bought a tractor, a plow, a trailer, something to make their work easier. I, still at my age, want to help my family by taking care of the cows here, in the pasture,' says Gheorghe Butuza, 79, who has lived his whole life on the Prelucilor hills.

Agrotourism, educational camps or adventure tourism began to be the new preoccupation of the youngest people from the three villages who sensed the potential of the place and the interest of the townspeople in climbing Copalnicului Hill and then making an incursion into the Lapus River Gorge.

For Andrei Florian, a former IT professional who lived in Cluj Napoca until the pandemic, returning home determined him to stay and start a new lifestyle, and together with his brother he developed the first local mini-tourist complex that offers and organizes musical events, equestrian tourism, excursions through the nearby forests and traditional food.

'The camps I organize are specially designed to educate children to be self-sufficient, and these are with accommodation, necessarily (...) For children, it's about separation from mom and dad, but also the strength to resist without mom and dad, without home food, comfort and everything they have at home. Once here, they have a little responsibility, they learn to be self-sufficient. (...) All children in the camp who come into contact with a horse, necessarily, learn to trot. That's how they learn to manage and control a horse on their own and to trot. I teach them to equip the horse, then I teach them how to take care of it. We also go to our cow farm, where we show them what milking cows and making cheese means. Everything we do together with children 'It helps them a lot, because children no longer have contact with animals, as they once did. Here, they have access to all these things that were once almost natural. For a few days, children have the opportunity to learn new things about life and skills that could help them in the future,' says Andrei Florian.

The three villages located approximately 40 kilometers from Baia Mare, once almost isolated, are discovering the effect of modernization, with the asphalting of the roads, the presence of electricity throughout the hilltop, access to mobile telephony, internet, solar panels, but also the small benefits resulting from agrotourism.

The locals don't seem bothered at all by the move of the city dwellers, most of whom have financial resources far beyond the income of a native family. Some of the locals, especially the young, are trying to find the best interests and businesses to make money and shape a prosperous future.

On the other hand, many of the inhabitants are ambitious to exploit the land inherited from generation to generation, to raise animals and maintain fruit orchards, to build other houses with the money collected and the work done abroad. Old houses built of wood and clay that have been abandoned seem to be rare, and those who own them try to preserve them.

Preluca Nouă, Aspra and Preluca Veche are configured as potential places where rural tourism will put Maramures back on the map for adventure enthusiasts, experiencing vacation days in the countryside, rafting and walking in nature.AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Leontin Cupar, editing by: Catalin Alexandru EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)