While the Alps sell out their mountain huts months in advance, Romania's Retezat National Park offers a similar hit of high-altitude scenery with barely another hiker in sight. Established in 1935 as the country's first national park, it covers nearly 100,000 acres of the Retezat Mountains in southwest Romania — and with no cable cars or ski resorts, development has essentially left it alone.

The numbers are striking: dozens of peaks above 6,500 feet and more than 80 glacial lakes, whose vivid blue water earned the park the nickname "the Land with Blue Eyes." It's also one of the most biodiverse corners of Romania, holding over a third of the country's plant species, from spruce and beech forest to wildflower-packed alpine meadows, plus limestone caves and sinkholes carved into the gorges.

For hikers, the classic outing is a 3.5-mile loop from Bucura Lake — a popular camping base — that climbs to Peleaga, the park's highest summit, taking in several other peaks along the way. Don't let the short distance fool you: the elevation gain is serious and the round trip usually takes about four hours. If that sounds like too much, the Sterminos Valley route from the small town of Uricani is a gentler 7-mile out-and-back through flower meadows, past two waterfalls and some odd rock formations.

Wildlife is a genuine draw here. Chamois, red deer and roe deer graze the meadows, while bears, wolves, lynx, wild boar and foxes keep to the forests — otters even play in the streams flowing down from the lakes. Birders get around 120 nesting species, including golden eagles, eagle owls and scarlet rosefinches.

Getting there takes some planning, which is part of why it stays quiet. The nearest airports are Sibiu (about 105 miles away) and Timișoara (roughly 135 miles); Timișoara is around three hours by car. Trains reach nearby towns like Petroșani or Ohaba de Sub Piatră, but you'll need onward transport to the trailheads.

If your idea of a mountain holiday involves crowd-free trails, wild camping by a glacial lake and a real chance of spotting large mammals — all in one of Western Europe's cheapest neighbouring countries — Retezat deserves a slot on your list. It suits fit day-hikers and self-sufficient trekkers more than resort-style travellers: come for the silence, the peaks and those impossibly blue lakes, and bring your own gear.