Why this ride
A 400 km round trip from Cluj-Napoca - roughly 7 h 27 in the saddle. It goes by way of Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului, Tihău - Grădiște, Tihău - Pe Grădiște and Guga - Vârful Țâglii. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cluj-Napoca long day · Guga - Vârful Țâglii
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 400 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 27
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca is the unofficial capital of Transylvania, a university city of more than three hundred thousand on the Someș river, and it wears its mixed history lightly. The Romans founded Napoca here, the Hungarian kings made it a rich town, and for centuries Saxon, Hungarian and Romanian communities lived together within its walls. The great Gothic church of Saint Michael dominates the main square, with a spire visible across the roofs, and a statue of King Matthias Corvinus, who was born in the city in 1443, stands in front of it. On the hill above stands the Cetățuia fortress, which gives a view over the old town and the hills beyond.
Read the complete Cluj-Napoca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cluj-Napoca is where the day begins. Next is Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
2. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
The name is a mouthful, and a good one: the Ridge of the Wolf's Clearing, on the hill of Muncel, above the Someș valley north-east of Dej. Somewhere along this wooded crest the Romans kept a lookout on the northern border of Dacia, watching the valleys for movement from the free tribes beyond. Watchtowers like this one were the eyes of the frontier, signalling to the forts below, and the site is part of the Dacian frontier inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. On the ground, expect very little: perhaps a low mound, a ditch or scattered stones under the trees. It is a place for imagination and a walk rather than a monument.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tihău - Grădiște.
3. Tihău - Grădiște
The Someș river makes its way through the hills of north-western Romania between Cluj and Baia Mare, and near the small town of Jibou, in Sălaj county, it passes through a narrow valley guarded on its slopes by the remains of a Roman fort. The site, known locally as Grădiște, which simply means old fort, lies above the village of Tihău, close to Surduc and Gâlgău Almașului.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Tihău - Grădiște. Next is Tihău - Pe Grădiște.
4. Tihău - Pe Grădiște
Jibou is a small town on the Somes river, and it holds a surprise that has nothing to do with Romans. The Wesselenyi family, Hungarian nobles who owned much of this part of Transylvania, built a castle here in the eighteenth century, and its grounds became the town's botanical garden, which is still a garden today, with glasshouses, old trees and flower beds that bring visitors from far afield. It is a quiet, slightly faded estate, and it makes a pleasant hour. Tihau lies six kilometres away, on the same river plain, among low hills that rise toward the Meses range.
Read the complete Tihău - Pe Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tihău - Pe Grădiște, about halfway. Next is Guga - Vârful Țâglii.
5. Guga - Vârful Țâglii
Rugășești, Vad and Poiana Blenchii are the kind of villages most people drive past on the way to somewhere else, and that is precisely the charm of the hills that rise between them. The point marked as Guga, Vârful Țâglii, lies on this rolling country north of the Someș, roughly a dozen kilometres from Dej, in the band of land where Rome drew the northern edge of Dacia. A summit called Țâglii is the sort of place where a watchtower would have looked out across the Someș corridor toward the free tribes beyond, and the archaeological lists record a frontier site here.
Read the complete Guga - Vârful Țâglii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Guga - Vârful Țâglii sits at 168 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tihău - Pe Grădiște.
6. back through Tihău - Pe Grădiște
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Pe Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tihău - Pe Grădiște comes up about 263 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Tihău - Grădiște.
7. back through Tihău - Grădiște
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 264 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Tihău - Grădiște. Next is back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
8. back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului, late in the day. Next is Cluj-Napoca.
9. Cluj-Napoca
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cluj-Napoca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 400 km.
Leg by leg
Cluj-Napoca to Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Cluj-Napoca → Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Tihău - Grădiște
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Tihău - Grădiște is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Pe Grădiște to Guga - Vârful Țâglii
Tihău - Pe Grădiște → Guga - Vârful Țâglii is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Guga - Vârful Țâglii to back through Tihău - Pe Grădiște
Guga - Vârful Țâglii → back through Tihău - Pe Grădiște is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Grădiște to back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
back through Tihău - Grădiște → back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Cluj-Napoca
back through Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Cluj-Napoca is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.