Magura Stanii means the Hill of the Sheepfold, and the name tells you how this high ground has been used for centuries. Shepherds drove their flocks up to the open pastures in late spring and stayed until autumn, living in simple huts, milking the ewes and making cheese. The practice continues in parts of Salaj, though in diminished form, and a sheepfold is still a sight you may come across on the hills. The label places this stop on the second of two points on the hill, and it has no monument, but the landscape and the history of the border region make it worth thinking about.
Salaj is a border region in the sense that it has often been on the edge. The Meses Mountains were the northern limit of Roman Dacia, and in the Middle Ages the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1940, under the Second Vienna Award, northern Transylvania was transferred from Romania to Hungary, and the new frontier ran right through this part of Salaj, close to the villages of Treznea and Aghires. The area returned to Romania after the war. Memories of those years still run deep in local families.
The hills themselves are rounded and wooded, covered with a mix of beech, oak and hornbeam, and cut by small streams. Clearings give wide views over the surrounding country, with a faint blue line of mountains in the far distance on clear days. In spring the meadows are covered with wild flowers, including orchids, and the air is full of the sound of cuckoos.
The riding is best on the quieter lanes, where tarmac gives way to gravel as the road climbs. A touring bike will cope with most of it, though care is needed after rain, when the clay turns slippery. Treznea, a village of a thousand people, and Aghires, a little larger, have small shops. Zalau is the nearest place for proper fuel and supplies, so fill up before heading into the hills.
Sheep's cheese is the local product, sold fresh or smoked, and a slice with bread and raw onion makes a fine lunch. Evenings in the hills are cool, even in summer.