The Bistra valley is a natural corridor, and armies have known it for millennia. Running east from Caransebeș toward the Iron Gate of Transylvania and the Hațeg basin, it was the route by which Trajan's legions advanced on the Dacian heartland in the wars of AD 101 to 106, and later the road that linked Roman forts and towns along the way. Near the village of Voislova, by the railway station, the remains of a Roman site have been identified as counted within the UNESCO serial site of the Dacian frontier, a reminder of how important this valley was to the Roman presence in the province.
The landscape is lovely: a broad green valley with the Țarcu mountains rising to the south and the Poiana Ruscă mountains to the north, small villages strung along the road, and the Bistra river running clear and fast. To the east, the Iron Gate of Transylvania pass leads into the Hațeg country, home to the ruins of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the Roman capital of Dacia, and to fossil sites where dwarf dinosaurs have been found. Oțelu Roșu, a former steelworks town, sits at the western end of this stretch.
Riding the valley road is easy and enjoyable. The DN68 runs along the river with long, gentle curves and good views of the mountains, before climbing over the Iron Gate pass in a series of bends through beech forest. Traffic is moderate, with trucks heading between the Banat and Transylvania, but it is usually manageable. Side roads into the mountains toward Poiana Mărului or the Muntele Mic area climb steeply and get rough higher up. Spring and autumn are especially pleasant, and the beech woods on the pass turn spectacular colours in October.
Voislova and the neighbouring villages have small shops and cafés, while Oțelu Roșu, about seven kilometres away with over ten thousand people, has fuel stations and more services. Caransebeș, further west, is a larger town with everything you might need. Local food is Banat cuisine, influenced by Austrian, Hungarian and Serbian traditions, with excellent sausages, soups and pastries. Pause by the station, look up the valley toward the mountains, and think of the legions marching east. Then ride on toward Sarmizegetusa, where their story is written in stone.