Between Sibiu and Făgăraș, the Olt flows through a broad valley, with the long wall of the Făgăraș mountains rising to the south, the highest in Romania, culminating in Moldoveanu at 2,544 metres. On the north bank, near the Saxon village of Cincșor, known in German as Kleinschenk, the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing and the road along the valley. The site, known locally as Cetate, the fortress, lies in fields near the village, with only faint traces visible.
Cincșor itself is a typical Transylvanian Saxon village, with houses built in a continuous row along the street, their gables facing the road, and a fortified church surrounded by defensive walls in the centre. The Saxons, German settlers invited by the Hungarian kings in the twelfth century, built hundreds of these fortified churches across southern Transylvania to protect themselves from raids. Many Saxons emigrated to Germany after 1990, and the villages are now mixed, but the architecture remains.
The riding here is varied. The main road along the Olt valley, the DN1 between Sibiu and Brașov, is busy with trucks and fast traffic, so use it only to cover distance. The minor roads through the villages are quieter, with views of the mountains. The Transfăgărășan, one of the most spectacular mountain roads in Europe, begins a short distance west at Cârțișoara and climbs to Bâlea Lake, usually open from July to October. Summer is warm, and the mountains are often covered with clouds in the afternoon; mornings are clearer.
Cincșor has a guesthouse and basic services, and Făgăraș, seven kilometres away, is a town of thirty thousand with fuel and shops. Its fortress, a large moated castle, is one of the best preserved in Romania and houses a museum. Food in the region combines Romanian and Saxon traditions: try the hearty soups and the cakes. In the evening, the light on the Făgăraș mountains can be spectacular, with the peaks glowing pink above the dark valley, and the sounds of the village settling down for the night.