Beliș is a village on the shore of the Beliș-Fântânele reservoir, a long, winding lake in the upper valley of the Someșul Cald, high in the Apuseni mountains. The lake was created in the 1970s when a dam was built for hydroelectric power, and the rising water flooded the old village of Beliș and several others, forcing people to move to new houses higher up the slopes. In dry years, when the water level drops, the ruins of the old church emerge from the lake, and people come from all over to see them, a slightly eerie reminder of the lives that were submerged.
The lake is surrounded by spruce forest and meadows, and it is a popular spot for holiday homes, fishing and swimming in summer. There are guesthouses and cabins around the shore, and the air is cool and clean, with the scent of resin and cut grass. The area is part of the Apuseni Natural Park, and the hills around are full of caves, sinkholes and streams that disappear underground and re-emerge somewhere else.
For riders, Beliș is a key point on the Transursoaia, the road that crosses the Apuseni from the Huedin area to the Arieș valley at Albac. The road around the lake is a pleasure, with curves that follow the shoreline and views across the water, and then it climbs into the mountains toward the pass, through dense forest with bends that tighten as you go. Recent resurfacing has made most of it smooth, though timber lorries drag mud and bark onto the bends. Cloud can drop onto the ridge in a matter of minutes, and a July shower up here feels closer to October, so keep the waterproofs on top of the luggage.
Beliș is small, with a few shops and guesthouses, and places to eat around the lake, often serving trout and traditional Romanian dishes. Do not count on a filling station by the lake; the nearest proper town for fuel is Huedin, about twenty-four kilometres to the north, so arrive with a full tank. Phone signal can be patchy around the lake and in the forest.
June brings the meadows into flower around the shore, and October turns the beech on the lower slopes to copper while the lake empties of visitors. From late autumn to spring, snow can make the higher road difficult or impassable.