Roman soldiers rarely chose to live above two thousand metres, but on Vârful lui Pătru, a broad grassy summit of the Șureanu mountains in southern Transylvania, they did. A small fortification on the top, part of the network that watched over the passes after Trajan conquered Dacia, is often described as one of the highest Roman military posts anywhere, and it now belongs to the World Heritage listing of the Dacian frontier. Imagine a winter up here in a wool cloak, with the wind coming straight off the Carpathians, and the posting suddenly sounds like a punishment.
The Șureanu are rounded, open mountains, with alpine meadows, juniper and dwarf pine on the tops, glacial lakes in the hollows and dense spruce forests below. Shepherds bring their flocks up for the summer, and their dogs are large and serious. Just to the north-west, deep in the beech forests of the Orăștie mountains, lie the Dacian fortresses that the Romans came to destroy, including Sarmizegetusa Regia, the old royal capital, with its sanctuaries and stone calendar circle. Standing on the summit, you can trace the long story of conquest across the ridges.
The riding reason to come is the Transalpina, Romania's highest paved road, which crosses the Parâng and Șureanu mountains between Novaci in the south and Sebeș in the north and passes not far east of the peak. It climbs to above 2,100 metres near the Urdele pass, with long, open sequences of bends over bare ridges, views that seem to go on forever and very changeable weather. The high section is normally closed by snow from late autumn until early summer, so check before planning. Fog can arrive in minutes, livestock wander onto the road, and the north side through the Oașa and Tău Bistra reservoirs has its own share of twisty forest riding.
Fill up in Petroșani or Petrila in the Jiu valley, in Novaci, or in Sebeș, depending on your direction, and carry water and warm layers even in August. Simple cabanas and guesthouses around Obârșia Lotrului and Rânca serve grilled meat, polenta and sour soups, and roadside shepherds sometimes sell cheese, which is worth stopping for.