Why this ride
353 km from Bârsana to Bârsana, about 8 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii, Sita - Vârful Sitii, Church of the Holy Archangels and Spermezeu - Lazuri. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wooden Churches of Maramureş and Spermezeu - Lazuri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 353 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 02
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Maramureș is a region in the far north of Romania, along the Ukrainian border, where traditions have survived more strongly than almost anywhere else in Europe. Its villages are known for their carved wooden gates, their haystacks and their wooden churches, eight of which form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bârsana, in the valley of the Iza river, has one of them, a church built in the eighteenth century, with a tall slender spire and a steep shingled roof.
Read the complete Wooden Churches of Maramureş write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wooden Churches of Maramureş is where the day begins. Next is Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii.
2. Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
The Țibleș mountains rise like a dark wall between the Lăpuș country and the valleys of Maramureș, a volcanic range of dense spruce and beech forest topping out at nearly two thousand metres. On their slopes, near the source known as Izvorul Șurii above the village of Groșii Țibleșului, the forest feels almost untouched: springs bubbling out of mossy banks, fallen trunks covered in fungi, and a silence broken only by woodpeckers and the wind. This is bear country, and wolves and lynx roam these woods too. The area lies on the edge of the Maramureș region, famous for its wooden churches, carved gates and deeply traditional village life.
Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii comes up 37 km in. Next is Sita - Vârful Sitii.
3. Sita - Vârful Sitii
On a hilltop near the village of Spermezeu, in the Someș hills of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Romania, a small watchtower once stood guard over the northern edge of the Roman Empire. When the emperor Trajan conquered Dacia in the early second century, the Romans built a frontier around their new province, the Dacian limes, a chain of forts, watchtowers and earthworks running along the Carpathians and through the hills. Vârful Sitii, the summit of Sita, was one of the observation points, chosen because from here soldiers could watch the valleys to the north and send signals to the forts behind them.
Read the complete Sita - Vârful Sitii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
73 km in you reach Sita - Vârful Sitii. Next is Church of the Holy Archangels.
4. Church of the Holy Archangels
The wooden church at Rogoz stands in the Lăpuș country, a quieter, lesser-known corner of Maramureș, south of the mountains and away from the main tourist circuits. Built in the seventeenth century and dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, it is unusual in shape: the roof is asymmetric and overhangs deeply on one side, and the eaves are supported by carved wooden brackets shaped like horse heads, a detail that seems to come straight out of folk tradition. Inside, the walls are painted with scenes from the Bible, including a vivid Last Judgement. It is one of the eight churches in the UNESCO listing of the Wooden Churches of Maramureș.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of the Holy Archangels, about halfway. Next is Spermezeu - Lazuri.
5. Spermezeu - Lazuri
Spermezeu is a village in the hilly country of western Bistriţa-Năsăud county, in northern Transylvania, where low ridges covered with orchards, hayfields and beech woods roll between the Someş valley and the Ţibleş mountains. The site called Spermezeu - Lazuri belongs to the series of places along the northern edge of the Roman province of Dacia, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed in Romania in 2024. Here the Romans watched the border with watchtowers and small fortifications on hilltops, and though little remains above ground, the commanding views explain why these spots were chosen.
Read the complete Spermezeu - Lazuri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Spermezeu - Lazuri sits at 147 km, about halfway. Next is back through Church of the Holy Archangels.
6. back through Church of the Holy Archangels
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Archangels write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Church of the Holy Archangels comes up 183 km in. Next is back through Sita - Vârful Sitii.
7. back through Sita - Vârful Sitii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sita - Vârful Sitii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
220 km in you reach back through Sita - Vârful Sitii. Next is back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii.
8. back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii, late in the day. Next is Wooden Churches of Maramureş.
9. Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wooden Churches of Maramureş 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 353 km.
Leg by leg
Wooden Churches of Maramureş to Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
Wooden Churches of Maramureş → Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii to Sita - Vârful Sitii
Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii → Sita - Vârful Sitii is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sita - Vârful Sitii to Church of the Holy Archangels
Sita - Vârful Sitii → Church of the Holy Archangels is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Archangels to Spermezeu - Lazuri
Church of the Holy Archangels → Spermezeu - Lazuri is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Spermezeu - Lazuri to back through Church of the Holy Archangels
Spermezeu - Lazuri → back through Church of the Holy Archangels is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of the Holy Archangels to back through Sita - Vârful Sitii
back through Church of the Holy Archangels → back through Sita - Vârful Sitii is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sita - Vârful Sitii to back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii
back through Sita - Vârful Sitii → back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii to Wooden Churches of Maramureş
back through Groșii Țibleșului - Izvorul Șurii → Wooden Churches of Maramureş is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.