Bărăști

Issues:

• You may encounter some navigation challenges on the Sălașu de Sus – Bărăștii Hațegului section.

Highlights:

• The medieval St. George church in Sânpetru;
• In the village of Ohaba-Sibișel you will find an old water mill and a water wheel.

The route starts from the center of Sălașu de Sus, crosses the river, passes near the town hall, and leaves the village on a gravel road (which may be paved soon). It crosses the commune pasture and climbs a ridge from where it continues on a dirt road (photos 1, 2) to a pond from which you can admire some peaks of the Retezat. From the pond, you return to the ridge (5 min) and follow a dirt road descending to the locality of Bărăștii Hațegului. Here you turn left through the village on an asphalt road, until entering the village Săcel where on the left are the ruins of Baron Nopcsa's manor.

You cross the village Săcel and at the first fork after crossing the river you turn left towards Sânpetru. At the intersection by the new church in Sânpetru, the route follows the left road and after a few hundred meters reaches the medieval church in Sânpetru. From here you follow the paved road to the right (or the road just in front of the church, if you decide to visit it), and upon leaving the village you enter the "Dinosaur Valley", known for numerous fossil discoveries on the valley slopes as well as for the thematic route of the same name created by the administration of the Dinosaur Geopark – Țara Hațegului. You pass by the Dinosaur Hill and the granite fields, while ahead there is a beautiful panorama of the Retezat Mountains. The road continues to Sibișel, then Ohaba-Sibișel where on the right you will find an old water mill and on the left a water wheel. The bridge at the end of the paved road is crossed and the route follows a dirt road next to the last houses in the village. You cross a stream by wading and the road continues 150 m uphill, after which you enter a paved road that leads to the village of Nucșoara (there are plans to pave the section between Ohaba Sibișel and Nucșoara). At the main road in the center of Nucșoara you turn left and follow the asphalt road back to Sălașu de Sus.