Grădiștea de Munte is where the Dacian capital stood, and the hills around it hold the remains of Sarmizegetusa Regia, the mountain city that Decebalus ruled from about AD 87 until the Roman legions broke it in 106. The site lies high in the Șureanu mountains, around twelve hundred metres up, on a series of man-made terraces cut into the slope. The most striking remains are the sacred zone, with circular sanctuaries of stone and wood pillars and a large round altar of andesite, often called the sun disc, which may have served as a calendar or a place of sacrifice. Whatever it was, it is a place with presence, set among dark conifers and mountain meadows.
What is certain is that the whole area is dense with Dacian works, from houses and workshops to water pipes made of fired clay, and that the Dacians managed a mountain city of thousands of people with iron tools, grain stores and strong walls. The complex is part of the UNESCO list of Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie mountains, inscribed in 1999.
Fuel is a real matter. The nearest big town is Orăștie, a fair way down the valley, and Orăștioara de Sus and Boșorod, both small villages, are the last places with a shop. Tank up in Orăștie and carry a little extra if your bike has a small range. The road up from Costești is narrow and winding, with rough patches, damp stretches under trees and occasional livestock, and it ends near the site, where a small car park serves the visitor trail.
The weather at that altitude is cooler and more changeable than in the valley, with fog, sudden rain and cold evenings even in July. The best season runs from late May to early October. The air smells of resin and wet earth, the silence is deep, and in the evening light the stones glow a warm grey. Bring a jacket and a bottle of water, and allow time to sit on the terraces, because that is when the place starts to speak.