Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania, to give it it's full title. And, to be specific we are talking about 7 villages that make up the UNESCO WHS listing. They are:

Biertan, Prejmer-Tartlau, Viscri, Dârjiu, Saschiz-Keisd, Câlnic and Valea Viilor.

Whilst on a mini road trip of central Romania a few years back, I was lucky enough to visit 3 of the above villages. Anyone planning on visiting them all should be aware, you need at least 3 days and a car with a Sat-Nav (although when I did it I used old school maps). Some of the villages are really tucked away and off the beaten track and although they may look easily accessible on a map, the roads are often narrow, sometimes not tarmacked and while, not mountainous, certainly hilly.

I have to say though, it's well worth the effort. These are some of the most impressive fortified churches I've been to and they are situated in some stunning scenic areas with towns and cities nearby, also worthy of your time, particularly Medias, Sighișoara and Brassov which are ideal centers to use as a base or a stopover.

The ones I managed to get to were Biertan (pictured), Saschiz-Keisd and Valea Viilor. All were thoroughly enjoyable but Biertan stands out above the other two just in terms of size and location.

Were it not for the UNESCO listings they are places I'm sure I would never have heard of and I think this is one of the great bonuses of achieving a listing, raising the profile and awareness of some very unique sites.