Chiuiești - Dealul Podului and Sita - Vârful Sitii

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Chiuiești - Dealul Podului

   The hills above the Someș valley northeast of Dej roll away in long green waves, and the commune of Chiuiești sprawls across them in a scatter of hamlets, each tucked into its own fold of land. Dealul Podului, the Hill of the Bridge, is one of the ridges where traces of a Roman watchtower have been found, part of the chain of observation points that guarded the northern frontier of Dacia. The frontier was not a wall but a network of forts, towers and roads, and the Romans placed their towers where they could see far across the valleys and signal to one another. The site is one of the components of the World Heritage site of the Dacian frontier, although on the ground you will see little more than the shape of the hill and perhaps a low mound.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Dealul Podului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Chiuiești - Dealul Podului is where the day begins. Next is Dumbrăveni.

2. 2. Dumbrăveni

   Dumbrăveni sits in the quiet hill country above the Someş Mare, where the river curves west towards Dej and the land folds into low ridges, orchards and small woods of oak and hornbeam. Like several places on these rides, it marks a point on the old northern edge of Roman Dacia, one of the scattered watchtower and earthwork sites listed in 2024 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Expect a hill and a view rather than masonry, and enjoy the feeling of being somewhere few travellers bother to stop.

   Read the complete Dumbrăveni write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Dumbrăveni comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sita - Vârful Sitii.

3. 3. Sita - Vârful Sitii

   On a hilltop near the village of Spermezeu, in the Someș hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Romania, a small watchtower once stood guard over the northern edge of the Roman Empire. When the emperor Trajan conquered Dacia in the early second century, the Romans built a frontier around their new province, the Dacian limes, a chain of forts, watchtowers and earthworks running along the Carpathians and through the hills. Vârful Sitii, the summit of Sita, was one of the observation points, chosen because from here soldiers could watch the valleys to the north and send signals to the forts behind them.

   Read the complete Sita - Vârful Sitii write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Sita - Vârful Sitii. Next is back through Dumbrăveni.

4. 4. back through Dumbrăveni

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Dumbrăveni write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Dumbrăveni, late in the day. Next is Chiuiești - Dealul Podului.

5. 5. Chiuiești - Dealul Podului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Dealul Podului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Chiuiești - Dealul Podului. That is the ride.