Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Seven kilometres east of Huedin, Izvoru Crişului is known as Körösfő to Hungarians,
or just as 'souvenir village' to everyone else, as the roadside is lined with stalls selling tra-
ditional handicrafts.
Twelve kilometres west of Huedin is the village of Bologa. The ruins of a 13th-century
medieval fortress
tower above it. Equally interesting is the old
watermill
(moară de
apă),
still in use today. The entrance to the mill is 3km from the main road (E60) on the
left in the centre of the village.
Ciucea village, 22km west of Huedin, is principally a place of pilgrimage for Romani-
ans and Hungarians alike, having been home to Romanian poet and politician Octavian
Goga (1881-1939) and to Hungary's most controversial 20th-century poet, Endre Ady
(1877-1919). One of Ady's houses is now a small
museum
(adult/student 4/2 lei;
9am-5pm Tue-Sun)
. A nearby, petite 16th-century
wooden church
was moved here from
near Cluj to preserve it.
In villages around Ciucea, on the first Sunday in May, are irresistible
Measurement of
the Milk Festivals
(Masurisul Laptelui), when shepherds bring in their flocks and milk
them for a contest; there's also a lot of eating, dancing and merriment. Buses go from
Huedin to villages such as Magura Priei, 10km north of Ciucea, for the festival.
NEAR HUEDIN
These places are quickly accessed in a two-hour break on long drives, or serve as stepping
stones to the Apuseni. Six kilometres south of Huedin, Sâncraiu is set at the base of
sweeping hills, with a few dozen homes turned into guesthouses. Many are signed, though
not all. Stop by
Davincze Tours
( 0745-637 352, 0264-257 580;
www.davincze.ro
;
No
291)
; run by Istvan, this travel agency (across from the Reformed church) can organise
guides for you on the Padis Plateau ((270 lei per day). And while there are a staggering 40
pensiunes
in this pretty village, the rooms at Davincze Tours are very homely with tradi-
tionally painted beds and wardrobes. Rooms are 34 lei per person, 85 lei including break-
fast and dinner. They speak English.
Mănăstireni (Magyargyerömonostor in Hungarian), 16km southeast of Huedin via
Căluta or 21km via Izvoru Crişului, is a quaint village noted for its 13th-century
church
-
you can see the old steeple with bullet holes from Turk guns. During the 1848 revolution,
200 Hungarians died at the battle of Mănăstireni. They were buried in a mass grave,
which today rests beneath lake waters at
Lake Beliş
- at low water levels, you can see the
church top coming up for air.
