The Dacians, before the Romans conquered them, built a ring of fortresses in the mountains around their capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, and Banița is one of them, perched on a limestone peak, Piatra Cetii, above the village of the same name. It guarded the southern approach to the Dacian heartland, controlling the route from the Jiu valley, and it was taken by the Romans during Trajan's wars at the beginning of the second century. The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains, including Banița, were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1999.
The remains are modest, with stone walls and terraces, but the setting is dramatic, on a rocky summit with views over the mountains and valleys. The climb from the village is steep, and the path can be slippery, so wear good shoes.
The village of Banița lies in a valley between the Șureanu and Retezat mountains, close to the Jiu valley, the coal-mining region of Romania. Petroșani, Vulcan and Lupeni were mining towns, and the miners played a dramatic role in Romanian politics in the 1990s, with violent marches on Bucharest known as the mineriade. Many mines have closed, and the region is trying to reinvent itself through tourism.
For riders, the area offers excellent roads. The DN66 runs from Hațeg over the Merișor pass to Petroșani, a winding road through forests, and from Petroșani, the Transalpina climbs south over the mountains to Novaci, one of the highest roads in Romania, while the Jiu gorge road heads south toward Târgu Jiu. Weather can change quickly in the mountains, and high roads close in winter. Vulcan, ten kilometres away, has fuel and shops. In the guesthouses of the Jiu valley, the food is miners’ food: big bowls of sour soup, polenta with cheese and sour cream, grilled meat. After a day on the high roads, nothing could be better, and the evenings at this altitude are cool even in July.