Popeni - Dumbravă and Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Popeni - Dumbravă

   Think of the frontier of Roman Dacia not as a wall but as a net. In the hills of Sălaj, north of the town of Zalău, the Romans stretched a fine mesh of watchtowers, small forts and earthen barriers across the ridges, all centred on the great fortress of Porolissum, which controlled the most important pass from the province into the lands of the free Dacians. Popeni, a village near Jibou, sits near one of the outer strands of that net: at Dumbravă, a spot on the edge of a wood, the remains of a tower are part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list. You will see a bump in the ground and a lot of grass, and that is all the more reason to use your imagination.

   Read the complete Popeni - Dumbravă write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Popeni - Dumbravă is where the day begins. Next is Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.

2. 2. Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii

   Surduc is a village in the Someș valley in Sălaj county, north-western Romania, where the river cuts a narrow path through hills on its way toward Baia Mare. Above the village, on a ridge overlooking the valley of the Hrăii stream, there are traces of a Roman watchtower, part of the frontier of the province of Dacia. The nearby villages of Tihău and Băbeni, and the town of Jibou, are all close by.

   Read the complete Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1.

3. 3. Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1

   The Someș river cuts through the low hills of north-western Transylvania in a series of wide loops, and at Cormeniș, a small village in Sălaj county, it passes below a bank where the Romans placed one of their watchtowers. This was the northern edge of the province of Dacia Porolissensis, the frontier facing the free Dacian tribes beyond, and a line of towers and small forts ran along the hills, linked by signals and patrols. The site at Râpa Malului, the riverbank cliff, is one of the many components of the Dacian frontier listed by UNESCO in 2024. As so often on the Dacian limes, there is little to see apart from a slight rise in a field, but standing up there with the river below, you can easily imagine a small garrison watching the valley.

   Read the complete Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Cormeniș - Râpa Malului 1. Next is back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii.

4. 4. back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii, late in the day. Next is Popeni - Dumbravă.

5. 5. Popeni - Dumbravă

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Popeni - Dumbravă write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Popeni - Dumbravă. That is the ride.