Vătava - Cetățele and Sărățel - Cetate 1

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Vătava - Cetățele

   For about a century and a half, the Roman province of Dacia was a wedge of empire pushed north of the Danube, and its eastern edge ran along the curve of the Carpathians through what is now central Romania. In 2024, UNESCO added the frontiers of the Roman Empire in Dacia to its list, a long chain of forts, watchtowers and earthworks. Vătava, in the upper Mureș valley, is one of the sites, with traces of a Roman fortification on a hill called Cetățele, the little fortresses. Not much is visible to the casual eye: earthworks, a few stones, the outline of a position chosen for its view along the valley.

   Read the complete Vătava - Cetățele write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Vătava - Cetățele is where the day begins. Next is Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.

2. 2. Sântioana - Vârful Mortila

   Sântioana sits in rolling country on the edge of the Transylvanian Plain, in Bistrița-Năsăud county, a gentle landscape of low hills, fields, orchards and scattered woods. The hilltop of Vârful Mortila, above the village, is one of the many archaeological places recorded in this part of Transylvania, a high point that would have made a natural lookout or settlement site for earlier peoples. There is little to see on the surface, but the view from the top gives a fine sense of the landscape, with the Transylvanian hills rolling away in every direction and the mountains rising on the horizon.

   Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Sântioana - Vârful Mortila comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sărățel - Cetate 1.

3. 3. Sărățel - Cetate 1

   The name Sărățel means the little salty place, and this corner of Bistrița-Năsăud has salt underground: springs of brine rise here and there in the hills, and for centuries people used them for cooking, curing meat and treating animals. Salt was one of the reasons the Romans wanted Dacia, along with gold, and on a hill near the village they placed a fort, Cetate, meaning the citadel, at the north-eastern corner of their province. Behind it lay the valley of the Șieu and the road towards the interior; in front, the hills where the free Dacians lived. The site is now part of the Roman frontier of Dacia on the World Heritage list, though, like most of these places, it is visible mainly as an outline of banks and ditches.

   Read the complete Sărățel - Cetate 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Sărățel - Cetate 1. Next is back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila.

4. 4. back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sântioana - Vârful Mortila write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Sântioana - Vârful Mortila, late in the day. Next is Vătava - Cetățele.

5. 5. Vătava - Cetățele

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Vătava - Cetățele write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Vătava - Cetățele. That is the ride.