Biking in Romania: Peștera and Măgura villages

Peștera and Măgura are “must see” destinations in Romania! Located in Piatra Craiului National Park, having Piatra Craiului Massif on one side and Bucegi Mountains on the other,  Peștera and Măgura villages amaze us through their simplicity and picturesque character. The trodden country roads, the warm and hard-working people, the silence and harmony seem to be sending us back to an old Romanian ballad.

Although not known by many people, they belong to Moieciu town, being the “wild” side of the touristic area Bran-Moieciu. Recently, they even became part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

The stunning landscape, the warm people and the silent country roads rend this area the perfect place for biking. For a beginner, though, the tour could be a little demanding, as there are many ups and downs throughout the track.

We will start the track from Cheile Grădiștei, but you can also start from Bran, Predeluț or even Moieciu. After passing the two villages, we`ll reach Zărnești, then Râșnov. From Râșnov we`ll continue on the usual road to Brașov.

Details:

Cheile Grădiștei – Moieciu – Peștera – Măgura – Zărnești – Râșnov – Cristian – Brașov

Total length: 54 km 

Level difference: 650 m

Difficulty: medium

Time: 5-6 hrs

Equipment: helmet, rain-wear, wind-stopper, first layer, spare wheel room + bike pump, high calorie food, water

Map:

Detailed map here.

As I was saying, we will start from Cheile Grădiștei towards Moieciu de Jos. When you intersect E574, take left and after about 150 m, you`ll see a small street on the right hand side where there is also an indicator to Peștera, if I remember well. The name of the street is Zbârcioara. From now on, it is pretty easy to orientate: all you need to do is follow the main road. There are 6 km of uphill until  Peștera and the road is mostly paved. This is how the landscape looks like:

The closer we get to Peștera, the better we can see Piatra Craiului Massif on the left hand side… together with the rain. 🙂

Peștera has some guest houses where you can accommodate or shelter from the rain, in our case. Here are Bucegi Mountains, seen under the rain droplets.

After this unplanned stop, we continued our way to Măgura. We even met a local old man, with a sad story but a warm look…

The road to Măgura seems to be taken out from a traditional ballad, being located on a green plateau, surrounded by mountains and a warm light. You have to face some demanding uphills but the whole landscape will make you forget about it. Be careful though and follow the main road, as you may be caught by the amazing landscapes and end up being lost.

From Măgura, we will start the descent towards Zărnești. From the main street in Măgura, at the end of the road just take left. From now on, the whole track is descending towards Zărnești, being the most relaxing part.

Once you reach Zărnești, continue to Brașov via Râșnov and Cristian. You just have to follow the main road, the national road DN 73A to Râșnov and then E574 to Brașov. Although from Zărnești to Brașov there are about 20 km, it is not demanding at all, being a continuous downhill slope.

Have a nice cycling!

Andrada

The Romanian version here