Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1 and Buciumi - Grădiște

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1

   Vârful Cigleanului is a hilltop above the Someș valley in Sălaj, in that mild, folded part of northwestern Romania where the land rises in wooded ridges toward the Meseș mountains. The name simply means the peak of the Ciglean, and like many hill labels in Transylvania it points to an old vantage point more than a famous summit. The ground is orchard and pasture on the lower slopes, oak and beech on the higher, and on a clear day the view runs along the river toward Jibou.

   Read the complete Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1 is where the day begins. Next is Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii.

2. 2. Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii

   Zalău is the county seat of Sălaj, a city of around sixty thousand people sitting in a shallow valley where the Meseș hills fold down toward the Transylvanian plain. The stop sits just north of the Măgurii stream, on the edge of the town, which means you arrive through suburbs and allotments rather than through any grand gateway. That suits the county. Sălaj is not a place of famous passes; it is a place of rolling ridges, orchards, hay meadows and small roads that wander from one village to the next without much of a plan.

   Read the complete Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Buciumi - Grădiște.

3. 3. Buciumi - Grădiște

   Buciumi has a Roman fort, and a proper one. On a low hill above the village, the outline of a rectangular auxiliary fort has been excavated, with walls, gates and the foundations of the buildings inside, laid out to the standard Roman pattern with the headquarters in the middle and barracks to either side. It was one of the forts guarding the road and the passes of the Meseş mountains, a few kilometres from the larger fortress and town at Porolissum, and it held a unit of auxiliary troops, soldiers recruited from the provinces rather than citizen legionaries.

   Read the complete Buciumi - Grădiște write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Buciumi - Grădiște. Next is back through Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii.

4. 4. back through Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Zalău - La Nord de Pârâul Măgurii, late in the day. Next is Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1.

5. 5. Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Ciglean - Vârful Cigleanului 1. That is the ride.