One hike to the ruins of the medieval fortress Șoimoș, Arad county, Romania
Hello to all travellers around the world
I hope all of you are well, and I can't wait to sit by the fireplace in my special spot and read your posts that take me to many amazing places in this world.
This past weekend here in western Romania the weather was unexpectedly nice, so after a day celebrating St. John's Day (a very big holiday here in Romania), we decided to hike on Sunday to a medieval fortress very close to where I live.
Sometimes I wonder why in so many years I haven't had the chance to visit the tourist attractions in my area?
Honestly I have no answer, or maybe with half a mouth to say that I only looked over the hill not seeing what was in front of me, a strange situation to say the least because I know of the existence of this fortress for over 30 years and I have never visited it.
This fortress has something special, that is, it is in pure wilderness, that is, both the route and the whole hill where it is located is a wild place, it was not arranged to be put on the tourist circuit, or talking about its reconditioning or the creation of a cable car to you climb, the only thing that has been done here is the marking of a path (you have to be very careful after a blue and white marker) and placing a sign indicating the direction to the fortress and a legend of the fortress.
Where is the fortress located?
The ruins of the medieval fortress Șoimoș are located at the exit of Lipova in the direction of Deva, about 35 km from Arad county, on the banks of the Mures river and the first documentary information about it is from 1278.
If somehow you are in the area and want to visit the fortress is very simple, follow the national road 7 and at the exit of Lipova towards Deva you can park your car entering a street on the left side (just on the corner is an uninhabited house).
We arrived at the bottom of the hill where we parked the car around 12:30, we had a snack before, we equipped ourselves with a few bottles of water in our backpack and we followed the signs found on the spot, but we also checked on the gps to see the correct direction, so we discovered that the ascent to the fortress can be done on two paths one with a medium difficulty and one with a higher difficulty that requires a higher effort.
Not being in the best physical condition we chose the easiest route but which had a longer distance to cover, the hike up took us about 20-25minutes with some breaks for hydration, and on the way back we followed the more difficult route because the distance was considerably shorter.
Whichever route you choose to follow I recommend you have mountain equipment, the climb in some places is more demanding and don't get injured.
After an easy climb of more than twenty minutes, where from time to time we admired how beautiful the city of Lipova is seen from above, we manage to reach the gates of the fortress, I was pleasantly surprised when on the way up and inside the fortress were many people who like us came to visit the fortress.
Seeing so many people made me a little sad that those in charge do not enhance this place, by arranging the trails or by making a cable installation so that absolutely anyone can visit this beautiful place.
At first glance the fortress is absolutely magnificent (I'll leave you some pictures taken from the drone), considering its age it has been preserved extraordinarily well, I have a few questions.
I wonder what material these people used to build the fortress?
What technology did they have in those days to build such a fortress?
I wonder how many people worked here?
Yes I know, I have many curiosities when it comes to such places that I am fascinated by, but before I find answers to my questions let's enjoy the spectacular view seen from over 200 meters high.
I sat for minutes on the grass looking towards the sunset, my god, what an amazing view, I also picked up the drone to get a better shot of the fortress and the surroundings, honestly I didn't have a sunny day but I was lucky that the wind wasn't too strong and my drone coped well with the flight.
I give you a piece of advice if you visit the fortress to be very careful about snakes especially vipers, from what I have heard these quite dangerous reptiles can be found here, you realize it is a largely wild area.
The fortress today can be visited for free any day of the year, the only condition is to have in your backpack some bottles of water (on the route and up at the fortress you won't find anything to buy) and of course equipment to climb the mountain, the medieval fortress itself takes care of the rest.
If you've read the legend of the medieval fortress Soimos, be careful when you climb up to the fortress you may encounter those white snakes, and why not break the spell of the three sisters.
If you liked what you saw and read here please don't forget to give a LiKe, Follow, reBlog or a Comment, for all this I thank you, and until the next post I say goodbye.
P.S. The attached pictures you have just seen are taken by me with my mobile phone in Soimos, Arad county, Romania, and the text is also designed by me.
