Lozna is a village on the southern edge of the Meseș mountains, and the pass above it, Curmătura, has been a gateway for thousands of years. Further up the range, near Moigrad, lay Porolissum, the largest Roman town in northern Dacia, with an amphitheatre, a customs post and a fort. The pass at the Porta Mesești, the Meseș Gate, was the road that led from the interior of Transylvania toward the plains of the north, and Roman watchtowers stood on the heights on either side, linked by a wall and ditch. The section is part of the World Heritage listing for the Dacian frontier.
What you see at a point like Curmăturița is probably modest, a mound of stones or a faint platform among trees, but with a little imagination the choice of site makes sense. Every watchtower has a view of the one before it and the one after. The mountains here are low, rounded and forested, rising to about eight hundred metres, with beech woods, meadows and farms. Wolves and bears live in the forest, though you are unlikely to meet them.
Riders will like the roads here. The DN1H runs from Jibou through the hills toward Zalău, and the county roads over the Meseș ridge wind through woods with some tight bends and good views. Surfaces vary, and sudden potholes appear, so ride at a measured pace. Summer weekends bring modest traffic, and the weather can turn stormy in the afternoon. Cattle and sheep, and the occasional horse-drawn cart, share the road. Fog in the mountains makes autumn mornings tricky.
Lozna is a small village, and the nearest town of any size is Jibou, about seventeen kilometres away, with a good botanical garden and fuel and shops. Zalău, further on, has everything you need. Try the local plum brandy, called țuică, and a plate of grilled meat with polenta. Early summer, with wildflowers in the meadows, and September, with mellow light, suit riding best.