The Meseș mountains are a modest ridge by Carpathian standards, but for the Romans they were a natural wall, and they built their frontier along it. The north-western edge of Dacia ran along these hills, with forts, watchtowers and walls guarding the passes from the plains of the Barbaricum beyond. Agrij - Coasta Lată, near the villages of Stârciu, Buciumi and Meseșenii de Jos, is one of the watchtower sites named in the World Heritage inscription of 2024. Nearby, at Buciumi, are the remains of a fort, and a little further north, at Moigrad, lies Porolissum, the largest Roman site in the region, with a reconstructed gate.
This is the county of Sălaj, a quiet region of rolling hills, forests and small villages, between Cluj and Oradea. Zalău, the county capital, sits at the foot of the Meseș, and Crasna, a town of six thousand, lies to the north-west. The landscape is pastoral and gentle, with meadows, orchards and beech woods, and the villages have small wooden churches, some of them centuries old. The pass over the Meseș, between Zalău and Cluj, was an important route since Roman times.
The riding is pleasant and quiet. The roads across the Meseș climb through forests with curves and views over the hills, and the minor roads wind through villages and valleys. The main road between Zalău and Cluj can be busy with trucks, but the side roads are calm. Surfaces vary, with potholes and gravel on minor roads. Expect carts, cows and dogs. Weather is generally mild, but there can be fog, rain and snow in winter. Autumn colours in the beech forests are lovely.
The villages near the watchtower are small; for fuel, head to Crasna or Zalău, both within easy reach. Food in Sălaj is typical of Transylvania: soups, stews, polenta with cheese and smoked meats. Local plum brandy is strong and offered with generosity. The watchtower site is little more than a mound in the forest, but the setting is beautiful, and a visit to Porolissum makes the history come alive. Stand on the ridge and look west over the plains, and you are looking at what the Romans called the land beyond the frontier.