Sibiu & the Saxon villages

A long day in the saddle, but taking in beautiful hills and historic villages, and finishing with a long 17km descent into Medias.

A more relaxing day, allowing time to explore Medias and to take in the scenery before returning to historic Sibiu.

Photo by Nicu Moldovan on Unsplash

Route Information

Stats: Total of 155.5 km (Day 1 83.3 km, Day 2  74 km). 1309 metres of ascent (Day 1 686 metres, Day 2 616 metres) approx.

Refreshments & Where to Stay

Sibiu is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Europe, with history everywhere. The historic centre has superb hotels and AirBNB choices to suit all budgets. Medias is a wonderful historic town in the hills, with excellent accommodation choices for all budgets.

Both Sibiu and Medias have a wide choice of places to eat and to chill out as you enjoy the ambience and flavour or Transylvania.

Character

This route climbs into the Saxon hills that surround Sibiu, taking you on good roads through historic villages, before a long descent to Medias and an overnight stay. Day 2 is an easier affair, with rolling climbs as you enjoy the spectacular scenery on the ride back to Sibiu. For the real ride junkies, you can try the full route as an all day epic.

On the way back, you’ll ride close to the spa resort of Ocna Sibiului, where you can take a break and maybe get an ice cream before the final section into town.

Route

1. From Piata Mare, ride out of town on the DJ106, eventually turning off left towards Diai and picking up the DJ106S after 13km.

2. Climb steadily for 14km, when the road steepens for a short but tough 1.5km climb, before descending and rejoining the DJ106 to Nocrich and its historic fortified church.

3. The road rolls along for a further 12km before another short but steep ascent (2km climb), that drops you down to Barghis and the DJ141 road – turn left here towards Medias. This road eventually leads to the big climb of the ride, which tops out at the 66km mark.

4. It’s now time to enjoy a rolling 17km descent all the way into historic Medias, where you can either stay overnight or eat and take a break before the ride back. You’ll have 83km in your legs on steep roads and there’s lots to see if you stop over.

Route

1. From Medias take the DN14 road west towards Tapu. The ride rolls along gently for the first 26km, turning off to onto 106B road at Tapu and heading south towards Sorostin. 

2. Climbing now begins, with an easy gradient for 9km, before hitting the steeper climb at 118km (full route), which tests your legs for 3km.  Thankfully a 4.5km descent is steep and fun, before you ride back towards Sibiu on a easy 30km on good roads with  open meadows rolling on both sides of the road. The scenery is superb and typical of rural Transylvania.

3. An intersection at 148km (full route) is where you turn left and follow the DJ143B (Calea Surii Mica) back towards historic Sibiu.

Click below for GPX file & accommodation

Sibiu to Medias Loop

Sibiu to Medias

Medias to Sibiu