Transylvania's rolling middle country does not have an obvious centre of gravity, and Chiheru de Jos sits right in it. The village lies in Mures county, in the hills between the Gurghiu valley and the upper Mures, a region of grassy ridges, orchards, and beech and oak woods that rise to the dark mass of the Calimani and Gurghiu mountains to the east.
This is a landscape of villages strung along streams, with a mix of Romanian, Hungarian and Saxon heritage, and the three have left their marks on the buildings. Small wooden or stone churches stand on hilltops, many of them fortified by the Saxons against the Ottoman and Tatar raids of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Haystacks still dot the meadows in summer, farmers use horses and carts, and the pace of life is slow. Reghin, a town not far away, is known across Europe for its violin makers, who use the resonance spruce from the surrounding mountains, and it has a long tradition of crafting instruments.
Riding here is gentle and rewarding. The minor roads climb and dip across the hills, with moderate bends, views over the valleys and a mix of surfaces that range from smooth asphalt to rough patches with potholes, and you often share the road with horse carts, tractors, dogs and geese. Traffic on the national roads can be heavy, with slow lorries, so overtaking requires patience. The best seasons are late spring, when the hills turn green and the orchards bloom, and early autumn, with warm light and golden beech forests. In winter snow and ice make the hill roads dangerous.
The nearest services are in Eremitu and Chiheru de Jos itself, with a couple of thousand people each, which means a small shop and perhaps a petrol pump, but for reliable fuel, a meal and a bed, head to Reghin or Targu Mures. Romanian village hospitality is generous, and plum brandy, ţuică, is often offered, which is best declined politely if you are riding.