Codrul secular Șinca and Village of Prejmer-Tartlau
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
402 km
Riding-time estimate
9 h 35
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Șinca Nouă it runs 402 km to Șinca Nouă; allow about 9 h 35 of riding. The stops in between: Moieciu - Drumul Carului, Voinești - Măilătoaia, Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate and Village of Prejmer-Tartlau. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Codrul secular Șinca
Codru is an old Romanian word for a deep forest, and the Codrul Secular Șinca, the ancient forest of Șinca, is exactly that: a stand of old-growth beech and fir on the northern slopes of the Făgăraș mountains in Brașov county, where trees have grown, died and fallen for centuries without being cut. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the ancient and primeval beech forests of Europe, a chain of protected forests across many countries that together tell the story of how beech spread across the continent after the last ice age. Walking among trees that are hundreds of years old, with fallen trunks covered in moss and fungi and the canopy closing high above, is a humbling experience.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Codrul secular Șinca is where the day begins. Next is Moieciu - Drumul Carului.
2. Moieciu - Drumul Carului
Between Bran and Rucăr, the road climbs over the saddle that separates the Bucegi mountains from Piatra Craiului, through a landscape of high meadows, hay barns, scattered farms and limestone peaks. The name Drumul Carului, the cart road, recalls the old route across this pass, which has linked Transylvania and Wallachia for centuries, and archaeologists have recorded a Roman-era site here, part of the network of frontier and road posts in Dacia. Fundata, at the top, is one of the highest villages in Romania, at around 1,350 metres, and the scattered houses of Moieciu, Peștera and Șirnea spread across the hills around it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moieciu - Drumul Carului comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voinești - Măilătoaia.
3. Voinești - Măilătoaia
The Rucăr-Bran corridor is one of the oldest passages through the Carpathians, and at its southern end, in the hills around Câmpulung Muscel, the Romans built a frontier line to guard it. The Limes Transalutanus, the frontier east of the Olt, ran north through this area, and small forts and watchtowers like the one at Voinești-Măilătoaia watched the valleys and the approaches to the pass. The sites are now low earthworks in fields and forest edges, and they belong to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing for Dacia, added by UNESCO in 2024.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Voinești - Măilătoaia. Next is Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate.
4. Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate
The Roman fort of Cumidava stood on a terrace near the village of Vulcan, just west of Râșnov, at the southern end of the Bârsa Land, guarding the route from Transylvania through the mountains to Wallachia. It was one of the forts on the eastern frontier of Roman Dacia, and its name, recorded on an inscription, is believed to be Dacian in origin. The site is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia, added to the UNESCO list in 2024. Little stands above ground, but the setting, with the mountains rising to the south, makes it clear why the Romans chose this spot.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate, about halfway. Next is Village of Prejmer-Tartlau.
5. Village of Prejmer-Tartlau
In the Burzenland plain east of Brașov, the village of Prejmer, known to its Saxon founders as Tartlau, is home to one of the most remarkable buildings in Romania: a fortified church surrounded by massive circular walls, with hundreds of storage rooms built into them on several levels. The church was begun in the thirteenth century by the Teutonic Knights, who were invited into the region by the Hungarian king to defend the frontier, and later strengthened by the Saxon villagers, who built the walls to protect themselves against Ottoman and Tatar raids. It is part of the UNESCO listing of villages with fortified churches in Transylvania.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 402 km.
Leg by leg
Codrul secular Șinca to Moieciu - Drumul Carului
Codrul secular Șinca → Moieciu - Drumul Carului is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Moieciu - Drumul Carului to Voinești - Măilătoaia
Moieciu - Drumul Carului → Voinești - Măilătoaia is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Voinești - Măilătoaia to Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate
Voinești - Măilătoaia → Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate to Village of Prejmer-Tartlau
Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate → Village of Prejmer-Tartlau is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Prejmer-Tartlau to back through Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate
Village of Prejmer-Tartlau → back through Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate to back through Voinești - Măilătoaia
back through Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate → back through Voinești - Măilătoaia is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Voinești - Măilătoaia to back through Moieciu - Drumul Carului
back through Voinești - Măilătoaia → back through Moieciu - Drumul Carului is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Moieciu - Drumul Carului to Codrul secular Șinca
back through Moieciu - Drumul Carului → Codrul secular Șinca is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.