Why this ride
From Deseşti it runs 337 km to Deseşti; allow about 6 h 50 of riding. On the way it passes Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha, Perișor - Păltiniș and back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of the Holy Paraskeva and Perișor - Păltiniș
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 337 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 50
- 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 90 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 90 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 Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha.
2. Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
Ileanda is a village in the north of Sălaj county, where the river Someș swings north-west out of the Transylvanian basin through a valley flanked by wooded hills. On the hill called Ciuha, above the village, the Romans had a post on the northern edge of their province of Dacia, one of the watchtowers and forts that guarded the frontier from the second to the third century. The site belongs to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. Do not expect a ruin with walls to wander through: what survives is mostly earthwork and traces in the ground, and the joy lies in the climb and the view rather than the remains.
Read the complete Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha comes up about 90 km into the recorded legs. Next is Perișor - Păltiniș.
3. Perișor - Păltiniș
The hills of northern Transylvania, in Bistrita-Nasaud county, are quieter than the better-known Saxon towns further south, a country of wooded ridges, narrow valleys and farming villages where hay is still cut by hand and stacked on wooden poles. The Perisor to Paltinis label sits in this landscape, about four kilometres from the village of Spermezeu and not far from Zagra, in the foothills below the Rodna mountains.
Read the complete Perișor - Păltiniș write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 168 km into the recorded legs you reach Perișor - Păltiniș. Next is back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha.
4. back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha, late in the day. Next is Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
5. 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
Back at Church of the Holy Paraskeva. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of the Holy Paraskeva to Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
Church of the Holy Paraskeva → Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is 90 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha to Perișor - Păltiniș
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha → Perișor - Păltiniș is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Perișor - Păltiniș to back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
Perișor - Păltiniș → back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha to Church of the Holy Paraskeva
back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha → Church of the Holy Paraskeva is 90 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.