Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe and Izvoarele Nerei
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
230 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 55
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.
A 230 km round trip from Oţelu Roşu - roughly 4 h 55 in the saddle. On the way it passes Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate, Teregova - La Hideg, Izvoarele Nerei and back through Teregova - La Hideg. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe
Zăvoi lies in the valley of the Bistra, a river running east to west between the Poiana Ruscă mountains to the north and the Țarcu range to the south, and for most riders it is a waypoint on one of the best roads in western Romania: the old route from Caransebeș in the Banat over the Iron Gate of Transylvania to Hațeg and the Roman capital of Dacia at Sarmizegetusa. The Romans used this corridor too. The road between their fort at Tibiscum, near Caransebeș, and the colony of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa passed through the valley, and Agnaviae was a station along it, where travellers and couriers stopped to rest. Today little remains above ground, but the line of the valley is unchanged.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe is where the day begins. Next is Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate.
2. Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate
Jupa is a village in the Banat, just beside the site of Tibiscum, the Roman town that grew where the Timiș and the Bistra meet at the foot of the Southern Carpathians. Today it has an archaeological museum and a field of excavations, with the remains of the fort, the baths and the civilian houses that once stood here. The Romans took over the Dacian lands in the early second century, and Tibiscum, sitting on a main road to the Danube, became a busy place of soldiers, merchants, craftsmen and priests. Some of the finds from the town show how mixed it was, with Greek, Roman and local gods all being worshipped.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate comes up 32 km in. Next is Teregova - La Hideg.
3. Teregova - La Hideg
Teregova is a village in the narrow corridor between the Banat mountains and the Țarcu range in western Romania, where the Timiș river flows north toward the plain and a low pass leads south to the Cerna and the Danube. This corridor has been a route since ancient times: the Roman road from Dierna, on the Danube, to Tibiscum, near Caransebeș, ran through here, linking the river crossing with the heart of the province of Dacia. La Hideg is a local place name near the village, and the point is listed among the sites of the Roman frontier of Dacia, the UNESCO site recognised in 2024. As with many such sites, the remains may be hard to spot, but the logic of the location is clear.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
64 km in you reach Teregova - La Hideg. Next is Izvoarele Nerei.
4. Izvoarele Nerei
High in the Semenic mountains of south-western Romania, in the Banat region, the Nera river is born in a forest of ancient beech trees. The Izvoarele Nerei reserve, the springs of the Nera, protects one of the largest areas of virgin beech forest in Europe, with trees over thirty metres tall and centuries old, untouched by logging. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe closes the day.
Leg by leg
Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe to Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate
Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe → Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate to Teregova - La Hideg
Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate → Teregova - La Hideg is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Teregova - La Hideg to Izvoarele Nerei
Teregova - La Hideg → Izvoarele Nerei is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Izvoarele Nerei to back through Teregova - La Hideg
Izvoarele Nerei → back through Teregova - La Hideg is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Teregova - La Hideg to back through Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate
back through Teregova - La Hideg → back through Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate to Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe
back through Jupa - Tibiscum / Cetate → Zăvoi - Agnaviae / Balta Neagră-Fânețe is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.