The two roads that bring tourists to the land of the Dacian fortresses are modernized, and the investments open the way to some of the most spectacular places in Romania.
The road from Valea Luncanilor, in the construction site. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
The two tourist roads to the Dacian fortresses in the Șureanu Mountains are under construction and will be modernized. Completion of the investments will bring more tourists to the historic area of Grădiștea Muncelului Cioclovina Natural Park.
The county roads that connect the Mureș valley and the Streiului valley to the Dacian fortresses in the Șureanu Mountains have recently entered the construction site and will be modernized, after years of local residents waiting for the authorities to intervene on the increasingly degraded sections.
The road from Valea Grădisti, towards the great Dacian fortresses
Almost 75 million lei (VAT included) are invested for the modernization of 17.2 kilometers of the County Road 705 A Orăștie – Costești, funds attracted by the Hunedoara County Council through the Western Regional Program 2021-2027.
“The main works are aimed at restoring the road structure, setting up intersections with side roads, setting up bridges, making ditches and rainwater drains, setting up a bridge, as well as strengthening the road body with retaining walls”, inform the Hunedoara County Council.
The road connects the Mureș Valley with the land of Dacian fortresses in the Șureanu Mountains. It starts from Orăștie and goes up the Grădisti valley to the edge of Costești village, the place from where tourists can continue their journey on foot to the Dacian fortresses of Costești and Blidaru.
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Gradistea Muncelului Natural Park at the springs of the pond Photo Daniel Guță 21 jpg
From Costești, the road to Sarmizegetusa Regia is continued with the Costești – Sarmizegetusa Regia sector, 18 kilometers long, modernized between 2014 and 2015, also with European funds.
Largely contained in the Grădiștea Muncelului Cioclovina Natural Park, the Grădiști Valley in Hunedoara offers its guests a lot of attractive places in terms of relief and history. The most famous of them are the Dacian fortresses Costesti, Blidaru, Fețele Albe (video) and Sarmizegetusa Regia, but alongside them, a lot of other ancient settlements, civil, military or religious, were discovered by chance or as a result of archaeological research.
In the same area, the routes and some portions of the Dacian roads, numerous man-made terraces, the places where the Dacians’ workshops and forges functioned were identified.
At higher heights, ruins of defense towers have been preserved. Nature was also generous in the Grădisti Valley, and the calcareous relief favored the appearance of numerous caves, waterfalls and spectacular rock formations.
The forests that surround Sarmizegetusa Regia cover almost 30,000 hectares and have also preserved countless historical vestiges and ancient treasures.
Several small villages strung along the Grădisti valley or on the hills that surround it also offer spectacular views. In recent years, the locals have tried to take advantage of the tourist attractions in the area, and the number of guesthouses and tourist services has been constantly increasing.
The road from the Luncanilor valley, modernized piecemeal
County Road 668 (video) goes up the Luncanilor valley, connecting the town of Călan, neighboring Hunedoara, to the Grădiștea Muncelului Cioclovina Natural Park.
The road, partially modernized in recent years, is the access route for most tourists to the picturesque mountain villages on the Luncanilor Platform (Târsa, Urșici – videoCioclovina), but also to precious natural monuments, such as the Cioclovina Cave, and to the Dacian Fortress Piatra Roșie.
Also, from the area of the village of Chitid, a road crosses the hills to reach the village of Costești and, further, to the Dacian fortresses on the Grădisti valley.
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Luncanilor valley road Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (21) jpg
On the valley of Luncani in Hunedoara, a three-kilometer sector of the county road that crosses the village of Luncani is in the construction site.
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Luncani Stream and Cioclovina Cave from Hunedoara Photo Daniel Guță THE TRUTH (25) JPG
The dirt road will be modernized and equipped with flood protection elements that have often damaged the Luncanil valley. The investment, financed through the “Anghel Saligny” National Investment Program, should be completed this year.
Valea Luncanilor from Hunedoara looks like a spectacular land, with the households of the locals in the “grove villages”, surrounded by forests and mountains, little changed by the passage of time. Several rest stops have been set up in the area of Boșorod commune at the foot of the mountains.
The Dacian fortress Piatra Roșie (video) is located about 20 kilometers from the town of Călan in Hunedoara, on a reddish and precipitous peak that rises above the Luncanilor valley in Hunedoara.
From its foothills, the mountain paths climb to Vârful Șâfla, then head towards the Cioclovina hamlet and from here, to the Cioclovina Cave in Hunedoara, above which a huge rock wall, more than 200 meters high, appears.
A forest road leads from Valea Luncanilor to near the cave. And from here, those who climb a mountain path on the Cioclovina Plateau, find the hamlet in the Ponoriciului meadow (video), one of the attractions of the Grădiștea Muncelului Cioclovina Natural Park.
From here, the trails lead to Poiana Omului and Fundătura Ponorului in the Șureanu Mountains.
