Discover Dubasari – Culture, Nature and Tradition

Dubasari combines vibrant folk traditions with unusual landscapes and historic sites. Families planning a trip will find various opportunities here to make discoveries together: an annual festival, museums, old churches, a monastery carved into the rock and a marked ecotourism trail. When choosing a holiday apartment, it is therefore worth deciding first what focus you want – culture, nature experiences or a combination of both.

Folk Traditions and Regional Heritage

A special cultural highlight is IA MANIA, an annual folk traditions festival held in Holercani. The programme includes live music, traditional cuisine, handicrafts, workshops and exhibitions. Village Day in Molovata Nouă is also celebrated annually, on 28 August. These dates provide a clear cultural occasion for planning a trip, without suggesting that there is a year-round programme of events.

There are 12 folk artisans working in Dubăsari District. Their fields range from pottery and artistic woodworking to embroidery, artistic weaving and weaving with plant fibres. In addition, 51 cultural heritage sites in the district have been included in the state register of monuments of the Republic of Moldova. For visitors who appreciate regional handicrafts and history, this provides a diverse way to engage with the identity of the area.

Churches, Museums and Notable Historic Sites

Historic sites worth visiting include the Church of Saint Alexei in Pohrebea, a listed architectural monument built in the 19th century, and the Church of “Acoperămîntul Maicii Domnului” in Marcăuţi, dating from 1816. Pohrebea is also home to a monastery carved into the rock. The Suvorov Oak in Pîrîta is more than 400 years old; in Molovata, an old cemetery with gravestones from the 18th and 19th centuries recalls the village’s earlier history.

Several different places are available for museum visits. Cocieri is home to a house museum dedicated to filmmaker Vlad Ioviță. The History and Ethnography Museum of Doroțcaia is located in the centre of the village. In Molovata Nouă, the local history and ethnography museum was reopened in early 2012 after extensive renovation. These places are suitable if you would like to include cultural sightseeing in your trip without limiting your stay to a single attraction.

Nature Between Canyon, Waterfall and Hiking Trail

The landscape also has its own distinctive features. Oxentea is home to a canyon with unusual flora. In Molovata, the Green Waterfall forms a wall of water approximately 25 metres wide and 8 metres high. These destinations appeal to different interests: the canyon draws attention to the plant life, while the waterfall offers a striking landscape feature for an excursion.

The “Farmecul Nistrului” ecotourism trail is approximately 4 kilometres long and runs between Mărcăuți, Molovata and Molovata Nouă. The trail has markers, information boards and rest areas. It has also been digitised through the Eco App Moldova app, which provides maps, information about biodiversity and local stories. The length of the route and the available wayfinding features help you fit this excursion into your daily itinerary without assuming a specific walking time or level of difficulty.

Ferry and Suitable Trip Planning

The ferry from Molovata connects Molovata and Molovata Nouă across the Dniester. This makes a concrete connection between two locations part of the region’s travel experience. On 23 October, Molovata Nouă hosted the third edition of the folk artisans’ festival “Din zestrea neamului-tradiții noi și vechi de la Nistru”. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore use either cultural events and museums or the marked route between Mărcăuți, Molovata and Molovata Nouă as a guide for further planning.

For further orientation, you can also visit these pages: Dubasari, Glodeni District, Transnistria, Călărași District, Ștefan Vodă District, Chisinau, Edineț District and Orhei District.

For the higher-level travel overview: Moldova.