Why this ride
147 km from Odorheiu Secuiesc to Odorheiu Secuiesc, about 3 h 11 of riding. It goes by way of Village of Dârjiu, Village of Viscri and back through Village of Dârjiu. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană and Village of Viscri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 147 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 11
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană
Odorheiu Secuiesc is a town that answers to two names, and if you ask for directions you will probably hear the Hungarian one, Székelyudvarhely. This is the heart of Székely Land, the Hungarian-speaking corner of eastern Transylvania, and the signs, the church spires and the way people greet you all make that plain within a minute of arriving. Piatra Coțofană, the Magpie Stone, is one of the rocky heights on the hills around the town, a few kilometres out among pasture and beech woods.
Read the complete Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană is where the day begins. Next is Village of Dârjiu.
2. Village of Dârjiu
Dârjiu is a Székely village of around eleven hundred people in Harghita county, and at its heart stands one of the fortified churches that UNESCO lists among the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania. Most of those villages are Saxon and Lutheran; Dârjiu is Hungarian-speaking and Unitarian, which makes it something of an odd one out and all the more interesting. A ring of thick walls and towers encloses the church, built so that villagers could shelter from raiders, and the tradition of storing smoked bacon and grain in the fortress towers lasted here long into modern times.
Read the complete Village of Dârjiu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Village of Dârjiu comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Village of Viscri.
3. Village of Viscri
Viscri is the village people picture when they think of Transylvania's Saxon heritage, and it more or less lives up to it. A single long street of pastel houses, blue, ochre and white, stands gable end to the road, with geese in the ditch, horse carts at dusk and, at the top of the slope, a fortified church wrapped in thick white walls. It is part of the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania listed by UNESCO, and it is one of the best preserved.
Read the complete Village of Viscri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Village of Viscri. Next is back through Village of Dârjiu.
4. back through Village of Dârjiu
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Village of Dârjiu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Village of Dârjiu, late in the day. Next is Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană.
5. Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană to Village of Dârjiu
Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană → Village of Dârjiu is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Dârjiu to Village of Viscri
Village of Dârjiu → Village of Viscri is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Viscri to back through Village of Dârjiu
Village of Viscri → back through Village of Dârjiu is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Village of Dârjiu to Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană
back through Village of Dârjiu → Odorheiu Secuiesc - Piatra Coțofană is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.