The Someș river does most of the work here. Flowing west and then north out of Transylvania, it has carved a valley through the hills of Sălaj county, and near the villages of Lozna and Letca the slopes close in, wooded and steep, with small clearings and hay meadows. On the ridges above, the Romans built watchtowers to guard the northern edge of Dacia, and the remains near Valea Leșului and Țiclău are among the sites included in the UNESCO frontier listing. Today they are little more than grassy hollows and stone scatters, visited by archaeologists and the occasional curious walker.
The countryside is beautiful in a quiet, unassuming way. Haystacks stand in the meadows, built around central poles in the traditional way, and wooden gates and old houses with carved details still appear in the villages. In spring the meadows are full of flowers, and in autumn the woods turn red and gold. This is a region where traditional farming has survived longer than in most of Europe, and the result is a landscape of great richness for wildlife, from butterflies to birds of prey.
The road along the Someș valley through Jibou and toward Dej is the main route, with gentle curves and generally decent asphalt, following the river through the narrowing valley. Side roads up into the hills are narrow, often rough, and sometimes turn into gravel or dirt tracks, which can become muddy and slippery after rain. Railway lines follow the river too, and level crossings are frequent. Traffic is light, but horse-drawn carts and livestock are a regular sight, and village dogs can be enthusiastic about chasing bikes.
Lozna and Letca are small villages with basic shops. For fuel and proper services, head for Jibou, a town of about eleven thousand people around eighteen kilometres away, which also has a baroque castle built by the Wesselényi family and a well-known botanical garden. Local food in Sălaj is rich and comforting: soups soured with borș, grilled meats and pancakes filled with sweet cheese. Find a spot by the river, switch off the engine, and watch the water slide past under the wooded slopes. It is the kind of place where an hour disappears without you noticing.