Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului and Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului

   North of Dej, in the hills of Cluj county, the land rises into a rolling upland of pastures, orchards and beech woods, cut by small valleys and dotted with villages. Muncelul Chiuieștiului is one of the hilltops above the village of Chiuiești, and the name is listed among archaeological sites of the Roman frontier in Dacia, which in this region ran along the hills to protect the province from the free Dacians and other peoples to the north. What exactly stood on this hilltop is something to learn from the local signs rather than assume; much of the frontier here consisted of small watchtowers and earthworks that left only faint traces.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is where the day begins. Next is Sărățel - Cetate 1.

2. 2. Sărățel - Cetate 1

   The name Sărățel means the little salty place, and this corner of Bistrița-Năsăud has salt underground: springs of brine rise here and there in the hills, and for centuries people used them for cooking, curing meat and treating animals. Salt was one of the reasons the Romans wanted Dacia, along with gold, and on a hill near the village they placed a fort, Cetate, meaning the citadel, at the north-eastern corner of their province. Behind it lay the valley of the Șieu and the road towards the interior; in front, the hills where the free Dacians lived. The site is now part of the Roman frontier of Dacia on the World Heritage list, though, like most of these places, it is visible mainly as an outline of banks and ditches.

   Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Sărățel - Cetate 1 comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică.

3. 3. Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică

   Up the Gurghiu valley in Mureș County, the villages still wear wood: carved gates, shingled roofs, little wooden churches and stacks of firewood against every wall. Ibănești is one of the best known of them, a long village strung along the valley where traditional dress, music and crafts have hung on more stubbornly than in most of Transylvania. On a hill nearby, Cetățuia Mică, the little citadel, marks a point on the eastern frontier of Roman Dacia, where a chain of small forts and watchtowers looked toward the volcanic Gurghiu mountains and the lands beyond. These eastern posts are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing for Dacia, added by UNESCO in 2024, though on the ground they are grassy earthworks rather than walls.

   Read the complete Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Ibănești - Cetățuia Mică. Next is back through Sărățel - Cetate 1.

4. 4. back through Sărățel - Cetate 1

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Sărățel - Cetate 1, late in the day. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.

5. 5. Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. That is the ride.