1. The Circuit: Tebea - Deva - Hunedoara - Tebea (120 km)

Access: AR

Sites:
The Fortress in Deva is located at the outskirts of the town of Deva, right on the peak of a cone-shaped hill, at 200m. It was inhabited between 1269 and 1849 and its existence is related to all the historical events that took place in Transylvania during that period.

The road takes you uphill, among stone walls and underneath portals, to the inner court of the fortress from where you have an amazing panorama of the surroundings. A valuable museum with sections on old history, natural science and mineralogy is hosted by the Bethlen Castle - an architectural monument from the XVIth century located in the park at the foot of the hill.

The Huniad Castle in Hunedoara, dates back to the XIVth century and was built on the ruins of some Roman fortifications. It had several owners, but it was Iancu of Hunedoara known as "the most brave soldiers of his times" from whom, beginning with 1409, its name and fame came from. The castle is an impressive well-preserved construction combining the gothic, baroque and renaissance styles

Duration of the visit: 2 hours

Sites not to be missed: the Knights Chamber, the Artillery Terrace, the Arms Room

Admission fee: 20,000 ROL/pers; 60,000 ROL/group

2. The Circuit: Tebea - Mesteacan - Ribita - Crisan - Baia-de-Cris - Tebea (15 km)

Tebea: the Church with the national (tricolor) flag - the only church in Transylvania that had the Romanian flag painted on its vault during the foreign domination;

Mesteacan: the Roadside Crucifix built in the memory of Horea's Uprising in 1784 on the place of a church, later burned, where the peasants swore to go to Alba Iulia to get free from serfdom by enrolling into the army. The roadside crucifix was built in 1934 on the occasion of commemorating 150 years since Horea's Uprising was defeated.

Ribita: the church with the most valuable Byzantine fresco in Transylvania - dating from the XIVth century.

Crisan: Crisan's Memorial House - the native place of the most brave of Horea's captains during the Uprising in 1784; the Crisan Monastery, built after 1990 on the place of an older monastery..

Baia-de-Cris: the former capital of the Romanian County called the "Zarandului Country" between 1862 and 1868, one of the few rights obtained by the Romanians from Transylvania after the Revolution in 1848.
Sites:
- the building that sheltered the Administrative Centre of the "Zarandului Country"; Avram Iancu's bust - the leader of the Revolution in 1848 in Transylvania; Avram Iancu's Memorial House - the place where he died in 1872;
- the Franciscan Monastery built in the XVth century, the most imposing gothic monument in the area, 500 years old, declared architectural monument

Returning to Tebea at the end of the circuit you can stop at the place called "at Pitchforks", marked by three stone roadside crucifixes built in the memory of the participants to the Uprising in 1784, who were hanged here (in pitchforks). The three roadside crucifixes are architectural monuments, too.

3. The Circuit: Tebea - Brad - Abrud - Rosia Montana - Campeni - Tebea (120 km)

Access: AR

This circuit will take you deep into the Apuseni Mountains and to the heart of the region called "Tara Motilor" (the "Motilor Country") and will reveal to you the way the people in this part of Romania live. In these places where history interweaves with nature you will see haystacks perched on hills, houses that give value to the beauty of the wood and will get a glimpse of the less known life of the gold miners.

The circuit starts from Tebea and goes through Brad from where it turns left on the national road DN74 and begins to ascend. Gently at the beginning, the slope becomes steeper and so continues up to the Vulcan Pass. Here you can make the first stop after the "tough" ascension and admire the impressive landscape. From here the road goes down and you reach Abrud, at 45 km from Tebea.

From Abrud the road continues into the direction of Campeni and after 5 km, near the locality of Gura Rosiei, you will come across the road leading up to Rosia Montana. Rosia Montana is situated on the shore of the Rosia Lake, at 800m and is the place of the oldest gold exploitations in Europe, historically attested since 1000 (B.C.).

During the Roman times the place was called ALBURNUS (the name of an afforested mountain in the Roman Empire - Italy) Major and it has been proved that the gold extracted here was used for the jewelry of pharaohs and Scandinavian kings. The intensity of the gold exploitation in the area is attested by the past existence of 300 "steampuri" (wooden mechanisms operated by water) for breaking the ore, the few lakes for supplying the "steampuri" and the numerous mine pits going down to different directions. These facts had been described on waxed tables dating from the Romans' times and found here. These plates also talk about growing grapevine and the Roman law.

Sites to visit:
- the lakes at the boundary of the locality;
- the local museum displaying mining tools;
- the galleries dating from the Romans' times;
- the Roman vestiges.

From Rosia Montana, returning to the national road DN74, you continue the circuit up to the town of Campeni. Campeni is located on the shores of the Aries, one of the most important rivers in the Apuseni Mountains. Campeni has always been considered the capital of "Tara Motilor" (the "Motilor Country"), being the administrative, economic and political centre of the region. Its documentary attestation dates from 1600 and, just like many other places in the Apuseni Mountains, it played its role in the two important historical events: Horea's Uprising and the Revolution in 1848.

During Horea's Uprising in 1784, Campeni was the rebels' last outpost and during the events in 1848 Avram Iancu had his general headquarters here.

Sites to see:
- Avram Iancu's equestrian statue;
- the building that used to shelter Avram Iancu's general headquarters;
- the building where Avram Iancu met Nicolae Balcescu (a Romanian revolutionist from Wallachia).

Campeni is the last destination of the circuit, after having driven 57 km from Tebea. From here you will take the same way back to Tebea although now, after this insight into the history of these places, the road will not seem the same.