Stolniceni - Buridava Romană and Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
141 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 52
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 141 km round trip from Mihăeşti - roughly 4 h 52 in the saddle. It goes by way of Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari, Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate and back through Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Stolniceni - Buridava Romană
South of Râmnicu Vâlcea the Olt river leaves the mountains and broadens across a valley of orchards and villages, and on the terraces above it at Stolniceni lie the remains of Buridava, a Roman military settlement whose name the Romans borrowed from an older Dacian centre nearby. It sat on the Limes Alutanus, the frontier road along the Olt that guarded the eastern edge of Roman Dacia, and soldiers stationed here left inscriptions, bricks stamped with unit marks and the foundations of baths. The site is part of the Dacian frontier listing inscribed by UNESCO in 2024.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stolniceni - Buridava Romană is where the day begins. Next is Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari.
2. Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari
The Olt is the river that cuts through the Carpathians, and wherever a river does that, an army will want to sit beside it. At Păușa, near Călimănești, the Romans built a small fort called Arutela to guard the road through the Olt valley, part of the defensive line that protected their province of Dacia after Trajan's conquest at the start of the second century. The fort's remains lie by the river, partly lost to floods and later works, and are included in the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listing for Dacia, added by UNESCO in 2024.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate.
3. Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate
The Olt is the only river that cuts straight through the Carpathians, and the Romans knew it. Between Copaceni and Brezoi, the Olt runs in a deep gorge through the mountains between Transylvania and Wallachia, and the Roman army, after conquering Dacia in 106 AD, built a line of forts and watchtowers along its western bank to guard this key corridor. The Limes Alutanus, as it is known, ran from the Danube northwards along the river, and sites such as Praetorium and Arutela were links in the chain. Some are little more than grassy ramparts today, but they sit on strategic hills with views along the valley.
Stolniceni - Buridava Romană → Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari to Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate
Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari → Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate to back through Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari
Copăceni - Praetorium I / Cetate → back through Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari to Stolniceni - Buridava Romană
back through Păușa - Arutela / Poiana Bivolari → Stolniceni - Buridava Romană is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.