Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu and Village of Câlnic
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
410 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 49
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
From Sarmizegetusa it runs 410 km to Sarmizegetusa; allow about 7 h 49 of riding. It goes by way of Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor, Village of Câlnic and back through Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,450 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu
After conquering Dacia in AD 106, the emperor Trajan founded a new capital for the province in the Hațeg basin, and named it Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa, borrowing the name of the Dacian royal capital in the Orăștie mountains to the north-east. The city grew into a prosperous centre, with a forum, temples, baths, and an amphitheatre that could seat thousands, and its ruins, partly excavated, lie in fields beside the modern village of Sarmizegetusa. The site has a museum, and you can walk around the forum and the amphitheatre, imagining the gladiatorial games that once filled it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu is where the day begins. Next is Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor.
2. Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor
Petroșani is the capital of the Jiu valley, a long trench between the Retezat, Vâlcan, Parâng and Șureanu mountains in south-western Romania, and for most of the twentieth century it was the heart of the country's hard-coal industry. The hills around the town, including Dealul Botanilor, look down on a landscape of mining towns, pit heads and miners' housing, with the high mountains rising all around.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor comes up 61 km in. Next is Village of Câlnic.
3. Village of Câlnic
Câlnic, a small village south of Sebeș in Alba county, is home to one of the strangest fortresses among the Saxon sites of Transylvania. Unlike most of its neighbours, it began not as a fortified church but as a noble residence. In the thirteenth century a local count built a stone keep here, surrounded by walls and a moat. Later the villagers bought it, added a chapel and storerooms, and turned it into a peasant refuge, where families could shelter from raids behind the walls. The result, still ringed by water on parts of its perimeter, is part of the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania World Heritage site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu to Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor
Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu → Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor to Village of Câlnic
Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor → Village of Câlnic is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Câlnic to back through Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor
Village of Câlnic → back through Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor to Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu
back through Petroșani - Dealul Botanilor → Sarmizegetusa - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augu is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.