Romania · Host
Asociația SideQuest
Coordinates the partnership and hosts the exchange. Routes, venue and safety plan.
Asociația SideQuest · Erasmus+ youth projects · Romania
Europe meets the Carpathians.
Young people from across Europe. One base camp in the Carpathians. Sunrise ridges, campfire nights and strangers who leave as your crew. All through Erasmus+.
--:-- in Romania.
Who we are
The mountain is the classroom.
A youth non-profit from Gheorgheni, in the Romanian Carpathians. We use the outdoors to teach what classrooms can't: confidence, teamwork, resilience, care for nature.
Our main work is Erasmus+. We bring young people from across Europe and host them where we know the ground best.
Founded2026
Based inGheorgheni
FocusOutdoor learning
ProgrammeErasmus+ Youth
Now
All projects →
What we are working on.
Looking for a Romanian partner?We bring the mountains.
Youth organisations from any Erasmus+ programme country are welcome. Send your group, or host with us.
Propose a partnership
Already on board for BREATHE
Between projects
Don't wait for the next project.
With us · In person
Weekend SideQuests
Sunrise hikes, night climbs, trail runs. Small groups, clear plans.
See the SideQuests →
On your own · Anywhere
SideQuest Generator
Pick your time, crew and terrain. Get a SideQuest for today.
Generate a SideQuest →Not for athletes.
For everyone who never went.
Hear it first
Get the call before it goes public.
One email when something opens. No spam. Leave any time.
- 01 Get the call
- 02 Apply
- 03 Get selected
- 04 Pack and go
SideQuestsidequestngo@gmail.com
to you
International · Erasmus+
Erasmus+ Projects.
Youth exchanges and training courses that take learning outdoors. Funded by the European Union, hosted in the Romanian Carpathians.
Open calls
Apply now.
Active
In progress.
Archive
Past projects.
Looking for a Romanian partner?We bring the mountains.
Any Erasmus+ programme country. Send your group, or host with us.
Propose a partnership
Already on board for BREATHE
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Erasmus+ Youth Exchange · EPLUS-01
BREATHE.
Measure the air you breathe. Nine days in the mountains of Harghita, 32 young people from four countries, and an air quality sensor in every pair's pocket.
When15–23 July 20277 programme days, 2 travel days
WhereFrumoasa, HarghitaHanul Kassay, trails from the door
Who32 young peopleAges 18 to 30, 8 per country
CountriesRO · CZ · SK · LTFour partner organisations
Why
Mountain air is not always clean air.
0litres
of air. That is what you have breathed since you opened this page. Do you know what was in it?
Run or hike and you breathe several times more air than sitting still. Nobody checks what is in it. Green places are assumed to be clean.
3rdhighest rate in the EU of early deaths linked to fine particles. That is Romania. Harghita is not the clean exception.
Premature deaths per 100,000 adults aged 30+ linked to PM2.5 above the WHO guideline, in the home regions of the four partners. Source: European Environment Agency, 2025.
Three paces, one air
Same route. Your pace.
Every morning the Air Route runs three ways. Pairs from different countries share one sensor, so nobody has to keep up.
Pace 01
Stroll
Easy walking, lots of stops. Made for first timers.
Pace 02
Hike
A steady climb on forest and ridge trails.
Pace 03
Run
Same route, running. See what breathing hard does to your dose.
The rhythm
A day at BREATHE.
- Early morningCheck-in and journalA short well-being round and time with your learning journal.
- MorningThe Air RouteOut on the trail at three paces, sensors on. Routes start early, before summer storms build.
- Early afternoonData labMixed teams upload, compare and make sense of the readings on a shared map.
- AfternoonWorkshopSensor school, a claim-checking lab, EU air standards.
- EveningTogetherIntercultural nights, and one evening measuring wood smoke in the village.
What stays after
The air, made visible.
01
Air Report
Written by the participants and presented to residents and local decision-makers in Frumoasa on the last day.
02
Open map and data
Every route walked in Harghita, logged on one shared map and kept online for at least three years.
03
The method guide
"Three paces, one air". Free and open, in English with summaries in Romanian, Czech, Slovak and Lithuanian.
Partnership
Four organisations. One week.
Czechia · Brno
Youth Group Novae
Data protocol, sensor calibration and the shared online map.
Slovakia · Prešov
EuroStep
Claim-checking lab, the inclusion and safety framework, and the communication plan.
Lithuania · Šiauliai
Erasphere
The learning journal and the reflection that runs through the week.
Open call
What is covered.
- Accommodation
- All meals
- Travel costs reimbursed
Half of the places are for young people facing economic, social or geographical obstacles.
With us · In person
Weekend SideQuests.
Short adventures between projects. They drop on Instagram first.
Logbook
SideQuests we have done.
2 SideQuests. 15 people. More soon.
Two SideQuests so far, both a few hours from base camp. Every new one adds a pin.
How it works
Four steps to the trailhead.
No experience needed. We tell you exactly what to bring.
- 01
Get the call
On Instagram and in your inbox first.
- 02
Grab a spot
Reply to save your place. Groups stay small.
- 03
Get the details
Meeting point, time, gear, transport. One message.
- 04
Show up
We handle the rest.
No SideQuest this weekend?
Make your own. The SideQuest Generator gives you one in a click, solo or with friends.
Open the SideQuest Generator
Do it yourself
SideQuest Generator.
Pick your crew, your time, your terrain and how hard you want it. Draw a SideQuest, accept it, tick it off. Tag us when you finish.
SideQuest passSQ-000
SideQuest
0 / 0
Bonus objective · unlocks when you finish
Before you go. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Check the weather. Mountains: Salvamont 0725 826 668. Emergency: 112.
My SideQuests.
Saved on this device · works offline
Asociația SideQuest
Our story.
Where it started
It started with a voice that never settles.
A need to move. To get out. To break the loop. A rebellion in our chest that does not go quiet.
The routine, the noise, the daily scroll. None of it is enough. Something in us keeps asking for more.
So we went looking for something to do. We found it outside. On trails and slopes, at sunrise, next to people we had not met yet.
That became SideQuest. A way out of the routine for anyone who feels the same pull. Cold Start was the first SideQuest. The Kickoff Run proved people would come back. In 2026 we became Asociația SideQuest, in Gheorgheni.
Your SideQuest is waiting. Break out.
So far
The climb so far.
- Winter 2026Cold StartOur first SideQuest. Poiana Brașov.
- 2026Kickoff RunProof that people come back. București.
- August 2026Asociația SideQuestRegistered in Gheorgheni.
- 2026BREATHE submittedOur first Erasmus+ application.
- July 2027BREATHEIf funded. 32 young people, four countries.
Our mission
Make the outdoors a normal part of young people's lives. Whatever their level, their budget or their experience.
- 01
Same day, every level
A first timer and someone who grew up on the slope join the same SideQuest. Mixed on purpose.
- 02
We clear what stops you
Transport, gear, safety, and the awkward part of arriving alone. We handle it.
- 03
Free, or close to it
Our activities cost nothing or as little as we can make them. Open to anyone who signs up.
Our vision
The outdoors as a tool, not a sport. For health, for confidence, for belonging. Especially for the young people who think it is for someone else.
Operating principles
How we work.
The rules we follow on every project and every SideQuest. Clear for participants, parents and partner organisations.
Our policies
-
01
Safety on the Trail
Route checks, weather calls, first aid and emergency numbers for every activity.
Read it
Before we go. We check the route, the weather forecast and the daylight. Every SideQuest has a set turnaround time, and we tell you the distance, the difficulty and the gear list in advance.
On the trail. On mountain routes one leader walks at the front and one at the back. Leaders carry a first aid kit and a charged phone, and know the emergency numbers.
Weather. If conditions turn, we turn back. No summit is worth it.
Pace. Not sure you can do it? Ask us before. We would rather adjust the plan than push you past your limit.
Under 18. Participants under 18 join only with written consent from a parent or guardian.
Emergencies. Call 112. In the Romanian mountains, Salvamont: 0725 826 668.
-
02
Code of Conduct
How we treat each other, on the mountain and online.
Read it
Respect everyone. No harassment, bullying or discrimination. Not on the trail, not in the group chat.
Consent first. Ask before you touch someone, before you photograph them and before you post them. No means no.
No one left behind. The group moves at the pace of its slowest person.
Follow the leader's call. On route, weather and safety, the leader decides. That includes turning back.
No drugs. No alcohol during activities.
Leave no trace. What we carry in, we carry out.
Speak up. If something is wrong, tell a leader or write to us. We take every report seriously and keep it confidential.
If the code is broken. First we talk. Serious or repeated breaches mean you leave the activity, and may not join future ones.
-
03
Privacy Policy
What personal data we collect, why, and how long we keep it.
Read it
Next on our list: inclusion, participant selection, safeguarding, environment and terms of participation. They go up here when they are ready.
For partner organisations
Your Romanian partner. From the first draft to the last trail.
We host and send groups for outdoor Erasmus+ youth exchanges. Based in Gheorgheni, in the Carpathians of Harghita.
How we work with you
Host or sending partner. Or both.
Bring your group to Harghita.
- We write and coordinate the application
- Venue, rooms and meals near the trails
- One programme for beginners and regulars
- Risk assessment for mountain conditions
- Photo and video from every day
We bring a group from Romania.
- Recruitment beyond the usual faces
- Places for young people with fewer opportunities
- Preparation before departure
- A group leader who travels with them
- Results shared back home
Track record
Young organisation. Real days outside.
Registered in August 2026. This is all of it, nothing rounded up.
Erasmus+ · KA152 Youth Exchange · Host and coordinator
BREATHE
Air quality on mountain trails. July 2027, Frumoasa, Harghita. 32 participants from four countries.
Application submitted See the project
SideQuest · Mountain day
Cold Start
Snowboarding, skiing and sledging in Poiana Brașov. First timers and regulars on the same slope, with transport, gear and instruction sorted.
SideQuest · Community run
Kickoff Run
An open run at Lacu Morii, București. Any pace. The fastest and the slowest finished together.
Partners on BREATHE
- Youth Group NovaeCzechia
- EuroStepSlovakia
- ErasphereLithuania
- Your organisationNext project
Bring an idea, or take one of ours
Projects we would build with you.
- 01
The air we breathe
Measuring air quality on the trail. Already written: BREATHE.
- 02
First time outside
Sport as inclusion. Beginners and regulars on the same day.
- 03
Head clear
Moving outdoors for mental health and wellbeing.
- 04
Leave no trace
Environmental learning in the places young people already walk.
- 05
Tell it right
Participants document the exchange in photo, video and social media.
You bring the young people. We bring the Carpathians.
Propose a project
For your application
Key facts.
Everything a partner form asks for. Copy a line, or all of it.
- Legal name
- Asociația SideQuest
- Short name
- SideQuest
- Erasmus+ OID
- E10441448
- Fiscal code (CIF)
- 55427697
- Type
- Non-profit NGO, not a public body
- Registered
- August 2026
- Based in
- Gheorgheni, Harghita, Centre region, Romania
404 · Off trail
This trail ends here.
The page you were looking for does not exist, or it moved. The way back is marked.
Privacy Policy
Your data. Plainly.
What we collect, why, who else sees it, and how to get it deleted. Last updated 16 October 2026.
Who we are
Asociația SideQuest (fiscal code 55427697) is a non-profit youth organisation registered in Gheorgheni, Harghita County, Romania. We decide how the data on this page is used, which makes us the data controller. Questions about your data go to .
What we collect and why
The sign-up form. Your first name, email, country, city if you give it, and what you want to hear about. We use it for one thing: to email you when a new Erasmus+ project or SideQuest opens. We only do this because you ticked the consent box.
The partner form. Your organisation, country, name, email and project idea. We use them to reply and to plan the project with you.
Messages you send us. When you email us or message us on Instagram, we keep what you write so we can reply.
Project applications. When a project call opens, the application form tells you what it asks for and why. Erasmus+ rules require us to keep participant records for the project's audit period.
What we don't do
We do not sell your data. We do not show ads. This website uses no analytics and no tracking cookies.
Saved on your device
The SideQuest Generator saves the SideQuests you accept in your browser. They stay on your device and never reach us. Remove them in My SideQuests, or clear this site's data in your browser.
The site also keeps a copy of its own pages on your device, so the Generator and the emergency numbers still work without signal. Clear this site's data in your browser to remove it.
Who else handles it
Netlify hosts this website and receives the sign-up form for us. Like any web host, it records technical data such as IP addresses to keep the site running and secure.
Google runs our email inbox. Instagram handles messages you send us there.
Some of these companies are based outside the EU. Where your data leaves the EU, they use the safeguards GDPR requires, such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
How long we keep it
Sign-up data: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. Reply STOP to any of our emails, or write to us.
Messages: up to two years after our last conversation, unless a project's records require longer.
Your rights
You can ask to see your data, correct it, delete it, limit how we use it, object to how we use it, or get a copy. You can withdraw your consent at any time. That does not affect anything we did before. Write to and we answer within one month.
If you think we got it wrong, you can complain to the Romanian data protection authority, ANSPDCP, at dataprivacy.ro.
Under 16
If you are under 16, ask a parent or guardian to sign up for you.
Changes
If this policy changes, we update this page and the date at the top.
Support us
Help keep the trail open.
Give a weekend or bring your organisation. Every way gets more young people outside.
Ways to help
+1
Volunteer
Facilitators, trip leads, photographers, designers, people who love logistics. Give a weekend, get a crew.
- Help run Erasmus+ activities
- Lead or co-lead SideQuests
- Shoot photo and video
↗
Partner
Youth NGOs, brands and gear shops. We offer visibility to a young, active audience on the trail and online.
- Erasmus+ partner organisations
- Brand partnerships
- Gear for participants
3.5%
Redirect your income tax
If you earn income in Romania, you can redirect 3.5% of your income tax to SideQuest. It costs you nothing extra.
- Fill in Form 230
- Submit it online or send it to us
- The money funds projects and SideQuests
Something else in mind? Write to us. We reply within 48 hours.
Contact us
Say hi. Say yes.
Apply for a project, propose a partnership, volunteer, or ask anything. We reply within 48 hours.
It is --:-- in Romania.
Pick a topic
We open the email for you, with the subject and a few prompts already in it.
Asociația SideQuest · Non-governmental organisation · Gheorgheni, Harghita County · Founded 2026
SQ-000 · Classified
You found the hidden SideQuest.
Only people who tap the Q five times ever see this one. Scratch the card to reveal it.
Secret SideQuestSQ-000
Off the Map
Bonus objective
Keep it between you and the people you trust.