Why this ride
A 386 km round trip from Chiuiești - roughly 8 h 18 in the saddle. The stops in between: Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha, Tihău - Dealul Cucului, Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 and Bologa - Grădiște. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Dumbrăveni - Măgura and Bologa - Grădiște
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 386 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 18
- 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
Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2
The ride follows Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 for 44 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 44 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dumbrăveni - Măgura
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a fortress on a hill above the Someș valley near Ciceu belonged not to the rulers of Transylvania but to the princes of Moldavia, on the far side of the Carpathians. Stephen the Great received the castle of Ciceu and its estates as compensation from the Hungarian king, and the Moldavian princes held it for decades, a curious enclave in the middle of Transylvania. The castle was later destroyed, and only ruins remain on the hill above Ciceu-Corabia, but the story gives a sense of how fluid borders and loyalties were in this part of Europe.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni - Măgura write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dumbrăveni - Măgura 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 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tihău - Dealul Cucului.
3. Tihău - Dealul Cucului
Dealul Cucului means cuckoo hill, and the name fits the place: a low, wooded rise above the village of Tihău, close to the town of Jibou in the Someș valley of Sălaj county, where in spring the cuckoo's call echoes across the meadows. The point belongs to the network of archaeological sites along the Roman frontier of Dacia in the northwest of the province, near the confluence of the Almaș and Someș rivers, a strategic spot where valleys meet and roads cross. As with many of these sites, there may be little to see on the surface, but the location makes sense once you look at the map.
Read the complete Tihău - Dealul Cucului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Tihău - Dealul Cucului. Next is Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2.
4. Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2
Treznea is a small village in the hills of Sălaj county, eleven kilometres east of Zalău, and its name carries a heavy weight in Romanian history. In September 1940, after northern Transylvania was transferred to Hungary by the Second Vienna Award, Hungarian troops entering the region killed scores of villagers here, Romanians and Jews, in one of the worst atrocities of that time. A memorial in the village remembers the victims. It is a sobering reminder that these quiet hills have seen terrible violence, and a short, respectful stop at the memorial is worth more than any viewpoint on the ride.
Read the complete Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2, about halfway. Next is Bologa - Grădiște.
5. Bologa - Grădiște
The village of Bologa lies in the valley of the Crișul Repede, on the main road between Cluj-Napoca and Oradea, where the river cuts through the hills between the Apuseni mountains and the Meseș. On a hill above the village, known locally as Grădiște, the Romans built the fort of Resculum, which guarded one of the main routes into the province of Dacia from the west. The fort was rebuilt several times, from earth and timber to stone, and archaeologists have uncovered its walls, gates and towers. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Dacia. On another hill above the village stand the ruins of a medieval castle, which controlled the same valley in later centuries. Climbing to either site gives fine views over the valley and the surrounding hills.
Read the complete Bologa - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bologa - Grădiște sits at 140 km, about halfway. Next is back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2.
6. back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 comes up about 247 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului.
7. back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Dealul Cucului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 291 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului. Next is back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha.
8. 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 Dumbrăveni - Măgura.
9. Dumbrăveni - Măgura
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dumbrăveni - Măgura 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 386 km.
Leg by leg
Dumbrăveni - Măgura to Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
Dumbrăveni - Măgura → Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha to Tihău - Dealul Cucului
Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha → Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Dealul Cucului to Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2
Tihău - Dealul Cucului → Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 to Bologa - Grădiște
Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 → Bologa - Grădiște is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bologa - Grădiște to back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2
Bologa - Grădiște → back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 to back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului
back through Treznea-Coasta Ciungii 2 → back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului to back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha
back through Tihău - Dealul Cucului → back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha to Dumbrăveni - Măgura
back through Ileanda - Dealul Ciuha → Dumbrăveni - Măgura is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.