Why this ride
A 235 km round trip from Deseşti - roughly 4 h 48 in the saddle. It goes by way of Church of the Holy Archangels, Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului and back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of the Holy Paraskeva and Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 235 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 48
- 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 40 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 40 km
- Named road
- Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of the Holy Paraskeva
In 1780 a painter named Radu Munteanu covered the inside of the wooden church at Desești with scenes that still shock and delight: a Last Judgment in which sinners are marched off to a hell full of grinning devils, alongside saints, prophets and lively village figures. The church, dedicated to the Holy Paraskeva and built in 1770 from oak logs, rises above the village with a tall, slender tower and a steep double roof of shingles. It is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș inscribed by UNESCO in 1999, and its paintings are among the best preserved of them all.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva 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 Paraskeva is where the day begins. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
2. 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 comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
3. 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
about 77 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of the Holy Archangels. Next is Chiuiești - Muncelul Chiuieștiului.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
5. 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 sits at 109 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
6. 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 comes up about 195 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
7. Church of the Holy Paraskeva
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva 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 Paraskeva closes the day.
Leg by leg
Church of the Holy Paraskeva to Church of the Holy Archangels
Church of the Holy Paraskeva → Church of the Holy Archangels is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Church of the Holy Archangels
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 back through Church of the Holy Archangels
back through Church of the Holy Archangels → back through Church of the Holy Archangels is 40 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 Paraskeva
back through Church of the Holy Archangels → Church of the Holy Paraskeva is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.