Râșnov - Cumidava / La Cetate and Village of Viscri
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
332 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 39
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.
A 332 km round trip from Vulcan - roughly 7 h 39 in the saddle. On the way it passes Codrul secular Șinca, Cincșor - Cetate, Village of Viscri and back through Cincșor - Cetate. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Codrul secular Șinca.
2. 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 comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cincșor - Cetate.
3. Cincșor - Cetate
Between Sibiu and Făgăraș, the Olt flows through a broad valley, with the long wall of the Făgăraș mountains rising to the south, the highest in Romania, culminating in Moldoveanu at 2,544 metres. On the north bank, near the Saxon village of Cincșor, known in German as Kleinschenk, the Romans built a fort to guard the river crossing and the road along the valley. The site, known locally as Cetate, the fortress, lies in fields near the village, with only faint traces visible.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 114 km into the recorded legs you reach Cincșor - Cetate. Next is Village of Viscri.
4. 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.