The hill of Comorâște, above the village of Brebi in Sălaj county, overlooks the Someș valley as it turns north towards Jibou, and its name hints at buried treasure, comoară, which is how villagers often explained odd mounds and old stones on their land. Archaeologists explain it more prosaically as a Roman watch site on the north-western frontier of Dacia, part of the line of towers and forts strung along the Meseș hills and inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. From the top you can see across the valley to the forested ridges that once marked the edge of the empire.
Jibou, seven kilometres away, is a small town with an unexpected treasure of its own: the Wesselényi castle, a Baroque palace of the Hungarian noble family who owned these lands, and next to it one of the largest botanical gardens in Romania, created in the twentieth century with greenhouses, a Japanese garden and plants from around the world. The Someș river flows through the valley, and the countryside around is a mix of farmland, orchards and forest, with villages of traditional houses and wooden churches.
The roads around Brebi are typical of rural Sălaj: narrow, winding and sometimes rough, with gentle climbs and descents, and views across the valley. The main road along the Someș from Jibou to Dej carries trucks and cars, but the side roads are quiet, and the pleasure lies in exploring the villages and hills at a gentle pace. Look out for animals on the road, and for the occasional pothole. The landscape is green and lush in spring and early summer, and golden in autumn.
Jibou, seven kilometres off, is the practical stop, with a filling station, a couple of supermarkets and simple restaurants where ciorbă, sour soup, arrives in generous bowls. Out in the villages, life moves at the pace of the horse cart, and a stranger who stops to admire a wooden church may well end up being offered a glass of țuică and a long chat in mixed languages. On a hot afternoon, the shade of the botanical garden's old trees in Jibou is a welcome refuge, and the castle beside it has been undergoing restoration.