Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci and Brebi - Dealul Mare 3

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci

   The Țibleș massif rises like a dark green wall between Maramureș and the Bistrița country of northern Romania, an old volcanic range topped by the Țibleș peak at around eighteen hundred metres. On its southern flanks, above the village of Groșii Țibleșului, lie the forests of Preluci, part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe that UNESCO has protected as one sprawling, multi-country site. These are woods left largely to themselves, where old beeches grow huge, fall, rot and feed the next generation without a forester in sight.

   Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci is where the day begins. Next is Muncel - Cărămidă.

2. 2. Muncel - Cărămidă

   In northern Transylvania, where the Someș river winds through low hills between Dej and Beclean, the Roman Empire once ran out of land and patience. The province of Dacia, conquered by Trajan in the early second century, had a long and complicated frontier, and in 2024 parts of it were added to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Muncel–Cărămidă is one of those components, a small military site above the valley near Poiana Blenchii, part of a network of watchtowers and forts that guarded the northern edge of the province. The big fort of Porolissum, near Zalău to the west, with its reconstructed gate, gives you a sense of what the bigger garrisons looked like.

   Read the complete Muncel - Cărămidă write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Muncel - Cărămidă comes up 61 km in. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.

3. 3. Brebi - Dealul Mare 3

   Most people who know the Roman Empire think of Hadrian's Wall or the Rhine, but there was also a Roman frontier in the hills of north-western Transylvania, and this is part of it. The province of Dacia Porolissensis was guarded by a line of forts and wooden watchtowers on ridge tops, and the great fort and customs station at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was its centre. UNESCO added the Dacia Porolissensis frontier to its listing of Roman frontiers in 2024. Brebi lies close to Porolissum, and the ridge called Dealul Mare gives a sense of why the Romans chose these hills: wide views over the valleys and the approaches from the north.

   Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   123 km in you reach Brebi - Dealul Mare 3. Next is back through Muncel - Cărămidă.

4. 4. back through Muncel - Cărămidă

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Muncel - Cărămidă write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Muncel - Cărămidă, late in the day. Next is Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci.

5. 5. Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Groșii Țibleșului - Preluci. That is the ride.