Why this ride
290 km from Șurdești to Șurdești, about 6 h 41 of riding. The stops in between: Church of the Holy Archangels, Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului, Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei and Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of the Holy Archangels and Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 290 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 41
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 37 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 37 km
- Named road
- Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of the Holy Archangels
Șurdești is a small village in the hills of Maramureș, in the north of Romania, and its wooden church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel is famous for its spire. Built in the eighteenth century from oak logs, the church has a steep double roof covered in shingles and a slender tower that rises far above the trees, among the tallest wooden church towers in the region. It is one of eight wooden churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO in 1999, each a masterpiece of local carpentry, built by village craftsmen using traditional techniques.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of the Holy Archangels is where the day begins. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
2. Church of the Holy Archangels
The wooden church at Rogoz stands in the Lăpuș country, a quieter, lesser-known corner of Maramureș, south of the mountains and away from the main tourist circuits. Built in the seventeenth century and dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, it is unusual in shape: the roof is asymmetric and overhangs deeply on one side, and the eaves are supported by carved wooden brackets shaped like horse heads, a detail that seems to come straight out of folk tradition. Inside, the walls are painted with scenes from the Bible, including a vivid Last Judgement. It is one of the eight churches in the UNESCO listing of the Wooden Churches of Maramureș.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of the Holy Archangels comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
3. 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
about 77 km into the recorded legs you reach Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. Next is Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.
4. Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Ciceu-Poieni is a tiny village in the hills north of the Someș, the kind of place that rarely appears on a map, and near it, at a spot called Podul Milcoaiei, the Romans placed a watchtower on the northern border of Dacia. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list, and today it is just a slight hump in the ground among fields and woods, but its position on the high ground gives a wide view over the valleys, which is exactly why it was chosen. The towers were placed so that each could see its neighbours and pass signals along the frontier with fire and smoke.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei, about halfway. Next is Perișor - Vârful Colnicului.
5. Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
The upper valley of the Zagra stream, in the hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Transylvania, is the sort of place that has produced poets. The village of Hordou, now named Coșbuc, birthplace of the poet George Coșbuc, lies not far away, near Năsăud, and Liviu Rebreanu, one of Romania's great novelists, was born in Târlișua, a little to the west. The hills around Perișor and Zagra, with the summit called Vârful Colnicului, are a landscape of meadows, beech woods and scattered farms that seems to have stepped out of their books.
Read the complete Perișor - Vârful Colnicului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului sits at 89 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei.
6. back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei comes up about 173 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
7. back through 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
about 213 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului. Next is back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
8. back through Church of the Holy Archangels
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Church of the Holy Archangels, late in the day.
9. Church of the Holy Archangels
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels 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 290 km.
Leg by leg
Church of the Holy Archangels to Church of the Holy Archangels
Church of the Holy Archangels → Church of the Holy Archangels is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Archangels to Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
Church of the Holy Archangels → Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to Perișor - Vârful Colnicului
Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → Perișor - Vârful Colnicului is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului to back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei
Perișor - Vârful Colnicului → back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei to back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
back through Ciceu-Poieni - Podul Milcoaiei → back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului to back through Church of the Holy Archangels
back through Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului → back through Church of the Holy Archangels is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of the Holy Archangels to Church of the Holy Archangels
back through Church of the Holy Archangels → Church of the Holy Archangels is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.