Vărădia is a village in the Banat, in southwestern Romania, close to the Serbian border, where the hills of the Banat mountains descend towards the Pannonian plain. In Roman times, it was the site of Arcidava, a fort on the road that Trajan's legions built to advance from the Danube into Dacia during the wars of 101 to 106, and later a garrison on the frontier. The site at Chilii, near the village, is part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia. The fort's earthworks can be traced on a hill above the Caraș river, and the location, controlling the valley, explains why it was chosen.
Oravița, about fourteen kilometres away, is a small town with a remarkable history. In the eighteenth century, under Habsburg rule, it was a mining centre, and in 1817 the townspeople built a small theatre modelled on the Burgtheater in Vienna, the oldest theatre building in Romania, still in use and open for visits. Oravița was also the starting point of the first mountain railway in what is now Romania, opened in 1863 to Anina, a coal mining town in the mountains. The line climbs through tunnels and over viaducts in a dramatic landscape, and it is sometimes called the Semmering of the Banat. Trains still run on it, slowly, and the ride is a delight.
The Banat has a multicultural heritage, with Romanians, Serbs, Germans, Hungarians, Czechs and Croats living side by side for centuries, and the villages reflect this diversity, with Orthodox and Catholic churches and German-style houses.
The riding is excellent. The roads from Oravița into the Banat mountains climb through beech forests with tight bends and steep gradients, and the road to Anina is particularly beautiful. Further south, the Danube gorge, the Iron Gates, is one of the great rides of Europe, where the river squeezes between cliffs on the border with Serbia, and the road follows it for many kilometres, with views of the river and the carved face of the Dacian king Decebalus on a cliff. The surface is generally good on the main roads.
Oravița has fuel, shops and restaurants. Try the Banat cooking, with its Austro-Hungarian influences: goulash, schnitzel and pastries. The region is also known for its wines, especially from Recaș, near Timișoara.