Târsa sits on a high plateau in the Șureanu mountains, in the same ring of hills that sheltered the Dacian kingdom's heart. The platoul, the plateau, is open grassland and forest edge at roughly a thousand metres or higher, the sort of place where shepherds still bring flocks in summer and the wind carries the sound of bells.
The pleasure of the spot is the landscape itself. Below the plateau, the valleys of the Orăștie region are a green patchwork of haystacks, orchards and small farms, and above it the ridge lines roll away in layers of blue. Wildflowers fill the meadows in June, with orchids, gentians and big yellow arnica, and deer and wild boar are common in the forest. Bears live in these mountains too, though they keep their distance, and walkers should make some noise.
The ride list pairs this stop with the Monastery of Horezu, in the Wallachian foothills over the mountains, which UNESCO listed in 1993 as a masterpiece of the Brâncoveanu style, founded in 1690s by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, with painted porches and a quiet courtyard. A day that takes in both is a good way to see how Romania's history is layered between peoples and centuries.
Boșorod is the nearest place of any size, with about two thousand people, a shop or two and the last pump for some distance, and Bretea Română is a quieter village, so plan fuel in Orăștie or Hațeg. The mountain roads are slow and winding, with surfaces that go from smooth to gravelled, hairpins that look gentler than they are and occasional rockfalls after storms. Do not rush, and leave plenty of time before dark, since the lanes are not lit. Late spring and September are the sweetest months, when the air is clear and the crowds are few. Pack a layer, because a warm valley can turn cold on the plateau, and expect to be passed by a horse cart.