The Someș river winds through northern Transylvania in a broad valley between rolling hills, and near Gâlgău and Poiana Blenchii, it forms a natural corridor between the Transylvanian plateau and the northwest. In Roman times, this valley marked the northern edge of the province of Dacia, and the frontier ran along the hills above it, with watchtowers and small forts. Casa Popii, the priest's house, near Gâlgău, is one of the sites of that frontier listed by UNESCO in 2024: probably a watchtower position on a ridge overlooking the valley. As with many of these sites, there is little to see above ground, but the views over the valley and the hills explain its purpose.
The valley has a quiet, rural character, with villages of wooden and brick houses, orchards, fields and the river meandering through meadows. Storks nest on electricity poles in the villages, and in summer the hills are covered with hay meadows full of wild flowers.
Dej, about eighteen kilometres away, is an old town at the confluence of the Someș Mare and the Someș Mic, and for centuries it was an important centre of salt mining. Transylvania sits on huge salt deposits, and salt was one of the main sources of wealth for the region, carried down the Someș on rafts. The salt mine at Dej is no longer open to tourists, but the larger salt mine at Turda, south of Cluj-Napoca, has been turned into an extraordinary underground park, with a Ferris wheel, a boating lake and a sports ground in vast caverns hundreds of metres below the surface. The town also has a fine Gothic Reformed church.
The riding is pleasant. The main road along the Someș valley is busy with trucks between Dej and the northwest, but the minor roads through the hills, towards the Lăpuș country and Maramureș, are quieter and more scenic, with bends, climbs and views over the valleys. North of the valley, the Țibleș mountains rise with forests and wild scenery. The surface varies, and potholes are common on minor roads. Watch for carts, livestock and dogs.
Dej has fuel, mechanics, shops and restaurants. Try the local smoked sausages and cheeses, and plăcintă, a pie filled with cheese, cabbage or apples, sold at roadside stalls.