📆 Day 9 | 5 August

📍Route: Târgu Jiu → Tismana 

🚴‍♀️ Distance cycled: 65 km

🏰 Places visited: City of Târgu Jiu, Brâncuși’s famous works — The Table of Silence, The Gate of the Kiss, and The Endless Column

Today was all about exploring. The night had been rainy, and it was still raining in the morning, so we stayed in our tents a bit longer, waiting for the drizzle to stop. When it finally did, we started packing — though everything was still a little damp. The view over the Jiului Delta was worth it, with birds filling the air with a natural symphony.

Once ready, we set off for Cheile Sohodolului Gorge. The scenery was stunning, with dramatic rock formations that locals have nicknamed after their shapes — like “the Nostrils” and “the Ring.” There’s also a rock temple there, built by a local man who warmly shared his story with us. He even showed us different types of snakes he found hilself and kept in jars, including a viper with its distinctive fangs, so we’d know what to watch out for. The gorge turned out to be far more impressive than we expected, and we were glad we made the detour.

From there, we biked to Hobița to see the birthplace of Romania’s famous sculptor, Constantin Brâncuși. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we could only admire the traditional house from the outside — but even so, we got a good sense of its authentic charm.

As we headed further south, we began to notice subtle changes: the local dialect sounded different, the architecture of the houses shifted, and the air grew warmer. Even during last night’s rain, we’d been too warm in our tents.

Our next stop was Tismana Monastery, the oldest monastic settlement in Wallachia, founded in the late 14th century by Saint Nicodemus of Tismana. Built in a Byzantine style and surrounded by forests, it has long been an important spiritual and cultural center. The climb to get there was hot and uphill, but worth the effort. Although it was under renovation, we could still appreciate its graceful architecture.

Hunger eventually won out, so we biked another 4 km to a supermarket, picked up supplies, and enjoyed a picnic by Tismana Lake. Not far from there, we found a campsite along the Tismana River. We went to bed early, but a group of young people set up nearby and decided to throw a party. The music was loud, but somewhere along the way, we drifted off to sleep — proof that the day’s adventures had worn us out.