Warm water has drawn people to this corner of the Mureș valley for at least two thousand years. Below the hill of Dealul Urie, near the spa town of Geoagiu-Băi, the Romans built Germisara, a fort on the hill at Cigmău and a bath settlement around the hot springs a few kilometres away, and soldiers and settlers from across the empire came to soak their aches in the thermal pools. Excavations in one of the old spring basins brought up a remarkable hoard of votive offerings, including small gold plaques dedicated to the healing gods and the nymphs, thrown into the water by grateful bathers. The ruins of the fort on Dealul Urie are low and grassy, but the setting, above a broad river plain with mountains on both sides, makes the climb worthwhile.
Before the Romans, this was the heartland of the Dacians. A short ride south, the Orăștie Mountains hide the remains of their great fortresses, Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costești and Blidaru among them, built of carefully dressed limestone blocks in the forests, and now on the World Heritage list. Trajan's wars of the early second century ended with their destruction and the creation of the Roman province of Dacia, which is why Romanian is a Latin language today.
Geoagiu-Băi is still a spa, a little old-fashioned, with thermal pools fed by the springs and a holiday atmosphere in summer. Geoagiu town, four kilometres away, and Orăștie, a pleasant small city with a medieval fortified church at its centre, both have fuel, shops and places to eat. The A1 motorway runs along the Mureș valley nearby, which makes this an easy stop on a long day.
The better riding is away from the motorway. Climb south from Orăștie on the road towards Costești and the Grădiștea valley and you are into forested hills on narrow, winding asphalt that eventually turns to gravel near the fortresses. North of the Mureș, the roads into the Metaliferi mountains around Geoagiu and towards Balșa climb through quiet villages and orchards. Surfaces are inconsistent, and in the villages you will share the road with horse carts and geese. Spring and autumn are lovely; summer afternoons can be hot in the valley, which is exactly when a thermal pool is less appealing than a cold drink in the shade.