Why this ride
From Petrila it runs 288 km to Petrila; allow about 4 h 56 of riding. It goes by way of Boșorod, Banita and back through Boșorod. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bănița - Jigoru Mare and Banita
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 288 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 56
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bănița - Jigoru Mare
High on a limestone outcrop above the village of Bănița, in the hills of south-western Transylvania, stand the ruins of a Dacian fortress. Bănița is one of the six Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains listed by UNESCO in 1999, part of the defensive system built around the capital of the Dacian kingdom, Sarmizegetusa Regia, in the first century BC and the first century AD. The kingdom's last great ruler, Decebalus, held out against Rome in two hard wars before Trajan's legions finally conquered Dacia in 106, an event recorded in stone on Trajan's Column in Rome.
Read the complete Bănița - Jigoru Mare write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bănița - Jigoru Mare is where the day begins. Next is Boșorod.
2. Boșorod
South of the Mures and west of the Retezat massif, the Hateg country is an oddly self-contained basin, ringed by mountains and full of old stories. Bosorod lies on its eastern side, near the town of Pui, in a landscape of meadows, small farms and wooded slopes that rise gradually toward the Orastie Mountains. This is where the Dacians built their strongholds, and the fortress at Banita, which shares the label with Jigoru Mare, is one of six that make up the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains.
Read the complete Boșorod write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Boșorod comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Banita.
3. Banița
The Dacians, before the Romans conquered them, built a ring of fortresses in the mountains around their capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, and Banița is one of them, perched on a limestone peak, Piatra Cetii, above the village of the same name. It guarded the southern approach to the Dacian heartland, controlling the route from the Jiu valley, and it was taken by the Romans during Trajan's wars at the beginning of the second century. The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains, including Banița, were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1999.
Read the complete Banita write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 144 km into the recorded legs you reach Banita. Next is back through Boșorod.
4. back through Boșorod
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Boșorod write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Boșorod, late in the day. Next is Bănița - Jigoru Mare.
5. Bănița - Jigoru Mare
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bănița - Jigoru Mare write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Bănița - Jigoru Mare. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Bănița - Jigoru Mare to Boșorod
Bănița - Jigoru Mare → Boșorod is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Boșorod to Banita
Boșorod → Banita is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Banița to back through Boșorod
Banița → back through Boșorod is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Boșorod to Bănița - Jigoru Mare
back through Boșorod → Bănița - Jigoru Mare is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.