Huta is the sort of name that appears in dozens of places in Romania, from the old word for a glassworks or a forge, and it hints at an older economy, when these hills supplied charcoal, timber and metal to the towns of Transylvania. This Huta lies in the rolling country between Ciucea and the Crasna valley, in the hills where Salaj county meets Cluj, and the Dealul Cozlii, the hill named in the label, is one of the many wooded ridges that fold across the horizon.
The countryside is gentle and old. Villages string along valley floors, their houses fronted by wooden gates, their gardens full of plum trees and beans on poles, and the slopes above are a patchwork of hayfields, pasture and beech forest. In summer, haystacks sit in the meadows like small thatched houses, and the smell of cut grass and woodsmoke follows you from village to village. The Church of the Holy Archangels in the ride name is a reminder that many of these villages have small wooden churches with steep shingle roofs, some of them centuries old, and a couple of minutes inside is generally rewarded with a smell of wax and old timber.
The roads are narrow, with moderate gradients and a lot of blind bends, and the asphalt can be broken. Cows, geese and the occasional horse cart use the road as their own, and you will probably find yourself slowing to a walk behind a farmer and a flock of sheep. It is best taken at an easy pace. In wet weather, clay and mud can make the unpaved lanes treacherous.
Services are scarce. Cizer and Ciucea have shops and a basic petrol station in the latter, but for anything more substantial, you want Crasna, a town of about six thousand, or Huedin, which is bigger. Bring cash, fill up before you leave the main road, and be prepared to ask for directions, which will be given with enthusiasm and not always with accuracy.