Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii and Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Popeni - Dumbravă.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei.

3. 3. Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei

   The Meseș mountains rise to the west of Zalău like a long green wall, and they formed the natural western boundary of Roman Dacia in this region. Along their crest and on the slopes above the plains, the Romans built a line of watchtowers, and the site above the fields with the evocative name of Șesurile Tâlhăroasei, roughly the robbers' flats, near the villages of Treznea and Aghireș, is one of them. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list. Up in the forest the remains are modest, but the position, high on a slope with a view over the valley, shows how the frontier used every advantage of the terrain.

   Read the complete Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 47 km into the recorded legs you reach Zalău - Deasupra Șesurilor Tâlhăroasei. Next is back through Popeni - Dumbravă.

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

5. 5. 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 at Surduc - Deasupra Văii Hrăii. That is the ride.