Why this ride
From Ileanda it runs 339 km to Ileanda; allow about 6 h 37 of riding. It goes by way of Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor, Agrij - Coasta Lată, Prodănești - Pe Șanț and Buciumi - Groapa Mare. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Rogna - La Bontauă and Buciumi - Groapa Mare
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 339 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 37
- 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
Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor → Agrij - Coasta Lată
The ride follows Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor → Agrij - Coasta Lată for 35 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Rogna - La Bontauă
Rogna is a scatter of farms in the hills of northern Sălaj, close to the Someș valley and the border with Maramureș, and La Bontauă is the name the locals give to a piece of high ground where a Roman frontier site has been recorded. The northern edge of Roman Dacia ran through these hills, and the Romans placed watchtowers and small forts on high points to keep an eye on the river valleys and the free Dacians to the north. Today there is little to see apart from the shape of the land, but the view over the rolling hills makes it easy to imagine a sentry looking out across the valley.
Read the complete Rogna - La Bontauă write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rogna - La Bontauă is where the day begins. Next is Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor.
2. Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor
Dealul Tărăvăilor is a hill above the village of Var, near Creaca and Jibou, in Sălaj county, north-western Romania, and like many hilltops in this part of the country, it held a Roman watchtower on the frontier of the province of Dacia. The Limes Porolissensis, as the northern frontier is known, was a system of towers, forts and earthworks guarding the roads leading to the great fortress of Porolissum, and the towers were placed on hills with views over the valleys, so that signals could pass quickly along the line.
Read the complete Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Agrij - Coasta Lată.
3. Agrij - Coasta Lată
The Meseș mountains are a modest ridge by Carpathian standards, but for the Romans they were a natural wall, and they built their frontier along it. The north-western edge of Dacia ran along these hills, with forts, watchtowers and walls guarding the passes from the plains of the Barbaricum beyond. Agrij - Coasta Lată, near the villages of Stârciu, Buciumi and Meseșenii de Jos, is one of the watchtower sites named in the World Heritage inscription of 2024. Nearby, at Buciumi, are the remains of a fort, and a little further north, at Moigrad, lies Porolissum, the largest Roman site in the region, with a reconstructed gate.
Read the complete Agrij - Coasta Lată write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Agrij - Coasta Lată. Next is Prodănești - Pe Șanț.
4. Prodănești - Pe Șanț
"Pe Șanț" means on the ditch, and in Romanian hill country that word is nearly always a clue. A șanț is an earthwork, a trench or rampart, and the countryside of Sălaj holds many of them, from Roman-era frontier lines to medieval and prehistoric defences.
Read the complete Prodănești - Pe Șanț write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prodănești - Pe Șanț, about halfway. Next is Buciumi - Groapa Mare.
5. Buciumi - Groapa Mare
At Buciumi the Romans built a proper fort, not just a tower. It was an auxiliary fort on the frontier of Dacia Porolissensis, a rectangle of earth and stone walls with corner towers and gates, big enough to house a unit of a few hundred men, and it stood on a spur overlooking the approaches from the north. Excavations in the twentieth century found barracks, a headquarters building and a bathhouse. The fort was part of the chain of installations along the Mes ridge, and in 2024 it was recognised by UNESCO as one of the sites of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire in Romania.
Read the complete Buciumi - Groapa Mare write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Buciumi - Groapa Mare sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț.
6. back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prodănești - Pe Șanț write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț comes up about 213 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Agrij - Coasta Lată.
7. back through Agrij - Coasta Lată
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Agrij - Coasta Lată write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 251 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Agrij - Coasta Lată. Next is back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor.
8. back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor, late in the day. Next is Rogna - La Bontauă.
9. Rogna - La Bontauă
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rogna - La Bontauă 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 339 km.
Leg by leg
Rogna - La Bontauă to Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor
Rogna - La Bontauă → Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor to Agrij - Coasta Lată
Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor → Agrij - Coasta Lată is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Agrij - Coasta Lată to Prodănești - Pe Șanț
Agrij - Coasta Lată → Prodănești - Pe Șanț is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prodănești - Pe Șanț to Buciumi - Groapa Mare
Prodănești - Pe Șanț → Buciumi - Groapa Mare is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buciumi - Groapa Mare to back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț
Buciumi - Groapa Mare → back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț to back through Agrij - Coasta Lată
back through Prodănești - Pe Șanț → back through Agrij - Coasta Lată is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Agrij - Coasta Lată to back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor
back through Agrij - Coasta Lată → back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor to Rogna - La Bontauă
back through Var - Dealul Tărăvăilor → Rogna - La Bontauă is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.