Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 and Buciumi - Groapa Mare

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Brebi - Dealul Mare 4

   The Meseș mountains are not high, but they once marked the edge of an empire. In the early second century the Romans conquered Dacia and built a line of defences along the ridge, with a chain of watchtowers, small forts and earthworks, to guard the north-western frontier of the new province. The big fortress at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was the headquarters, and in between were dozens of small posts on hilltops, each in sight of the next. Brebi, a village in Sălaj county, lies on this frontier, and Dealul Mare, the Big Hill, is the kind of name given to the high ground where such a tower would stand.

   Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 is where the day begins. Next is Agrij - Coasta Lată.

2. 2. Agrij - Coasta Lată

   The Meseș mountains are a modest ridge by Carpathian standards, but for the Romans they were a natural wall, and they built their frontier along it. The north-western edge of Dacia ran along these hills, with forts, watchtowers and walls guarding the passes from the plains of the Barbaricum beyond. Agrij - Coasta Lată, near the villages of Stârciu, Buciumi and Meseșenii de Jos, is one of the watchtower sites named in the World Heritage inscription of 2024. Nearby, at Buciumi, are the remains of a fort, and a little further north, at Moigrad, lies Porolissum, the largest Roman site in the region, with a reconstructed gate.

   Read the complete Agrij - Coasta Lată write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Agrij - Coasta Lată comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Poieni - Cornu Sonului.

3. 3. Poieni - Cornu Sonului

   Poieni, which means clearings or glades in Romanian, is a small village in the hills of Cluj county, on the edge of the Apuseni mountains, and the point called Cornu Sonului lies a few kilometres from it. The landscape is that of western Transylvania as it begins to climb: rolling green hills, patches of beech and oak forest, meadows and farms with steep tiled roofs. To the east and south the land rises toward the great limestone country of the Apuseni, with its caves, gorges and high pastures, while to the west the road drops toward Oradea and the Hungarian border.

   Read the complete Poieni - Cornu Sonului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 93 km into the recorded legs you reach Poieni - Cornu Sonului. Next is Buciumi - Groapa Mare.

4. 4. Buciumi - Groapa Mare

   At Buciumi the Romans built a proper fort, not just a tower. It was an auxiliary fort on the frontier of Dacia Porolissensis, a rectangle of earth and stone walls with corner towers and gates, big enough to house a unit of a few hundred men, and it stood on a spur overlooking the approaches from the north. Excavations in the twentieth century found barracks, a headquarters building and a bathhouse. The fort was part of the chain of installations along the Mes ridge, and in 2024 it was recognised by UNESCO as one of the sites of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire in Romania.

   Read the complete Buciumi - Groapa Mare write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Buciumi - Groapa Mare, about halfway. Next is back through Poieni - Cornu Sonului.

5. 5. back through Poieni - Cornu Sonului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Poieni - Cornu Sonului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Poieni - Cornu Sonului sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Agrij - Coasta Lată.

6. 6. back through Agrij - Coasta Lată

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Agrij - Coasta Lată write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Agrij - Coasta Lată comes up about 260 km into the recorded legs. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 4.

7. 7. Brebi - Dealul Mare 4

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 closes the day.