Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital of Dacia, a kingdom that once stood between the Carpathians and the Danube, and the ruins lie high in the Orastie Mountains, in the county of Hunedoara. The Dacians were a sophisticated people, with fortified hilltop towns, gold and iron work, and a priesthood. Under their king Decebalus they fought the Roman Empire in two wars, and the emperor Trajan finally conquered the kingdom in 106 AD. The Romans destroyed the capital, but the site survived as a series of terraces cut into a steep mountainside, and it is part of the UNESCO group of Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains, listed in 1999.
What stays in the mind is the sanctuary, a place of circular and rectangular platforms with rows of stone bases that once held wooden pillars. The largest circle is often called the Great Round Sanctuary, and next to it stands a disc of andesite known as the Andesite Sun. Experts disagree about their meaning, and some think they were used to measure time or track the calendar. The stone blocks of the fortress walls were fitted without mortar in a style called murus dacicus, with timber binding, and parts of the walls survive.
The road to the ruins is one of the most beautiful in Romania. From Orastie, in the valley, a narrow, winding forest road climbs for a long way through beech and spruce, with steep slopes, tight bends and little traffic. The surface is patchy in places, with potholes, loose gravel and washouts after heavy rain. Speed limits are low, and the pace is slow, which suits the setting. Wild boar, deer and, in the deeper forests, bears are present.
Fill the tank in Orastie, the main town of the area, and bring food and water, since services at the site are limited. The village of Orastioara de Sus, the nearest settlement, has a few shops and guesthouses. Temperatures at the site can be cool even in summer, and mist is common. The best time to visit is from late May to early October, since snow can block the road in winter.
Walk the site slowly, and look out across the forested hills to feel why Decebalus chose the place. The silence is remarkable.