Explore Zalau
& Salaj County

One of the largest and best-preserved Roman archaeological sites in Romania, and one of the most important frontier fortifications of the entire Roman Empire.

Founded in 106 AD by Emperor Trajan during the Second Dacian War, Porolissum served as a defensive fortress protecting the main Carpathian mountain passage on the northern frontier of the empire. It became the capital of the province Dacia Porolissensis in 124 AD and later received municipium status under Septimius Severus.

The site hosted approximately 5,000 auxiliary troops from Spain, Gaul, and Britain. It was abandoned when the Romans withdrew from Dacia in 271 AD under Aurelian, though archaeological evidence shows continued occupation for centuries afterward.

Artifacts from the site are housed in the Zalau County Museum of History and Art, which features reconstructed Roman walls, houses, and temple facades from the excavations.

Founded in 1951, the museum houses over 225,000 cultural assets spanning 25,000 years of human habitation in Salaj County — from Paleolithic cave dwellings to the modern era.

The museum is the primary repository for artifacts excavated at Porolissum. Its Roman period galleries feature reconstructed defensive walls (Limes), a Roman house complete with hypocaustum heating, running water, and baths, and temple facades with monuments dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and other deities.

Highlights include the "Venus" of Zauan — a Neolithic figurine from 5500-5300 BCE — a Bronze Age casting workshop reconstruction, Dacian metalworking displays, and an upper floor featuring a recreated early 20th-century Zalau market scene.

A protected natural area featuring extraordinary sandstone rock formations shaped over millennia by freeze-thaw cycles, water erosion, and gravity — resembling towers, mushrooms, needles, and mythical creatures.

Designated as a protected area since 1975 (Category IV IUCN reserve), the 3-hectare site is home to formations named after figures from Romanian folklore: Zmeul si Zmeoaica (The Dragon and the She-Dragon), Acul Cleopatrei (Cleopatra's Needle), Sfinxul (The Sphinx), Calugarii (The Monks), and many more.

The area is surrounded by beech, oak, and linden forests, and harbors rare Mediterranean and endemic plant species alongside fauna including wild boar, woodpeckers, and salamanders.

One of Romania's most important botanical gardens, spanning 25 acres on the grounds surrounding the historic Wesselenyi Castle in Jibou.

Founded by Professor Vasile Fati between 1959-1968 as part of the local high school, the garden became an independent research institution in 1970. Today it is operated by the Jibou Institute of Biological Research and serves as both a scientific facility and a public destination promoting love and respect for nature.

The garden features multiple themed sectors, collection greenhouses with tropical and subtropical species, an aquarium complex, a zoo park with bird aviaries, a Japanese garden, and a rosarium.

Part of the Apuseni Mountains system, the Meses range forms the natural southern boundary of Salaj County with peaks reaching up to 996 meters (Magura Priei).

Covered in mixed beech and oak forests, the mountains offer marked hiking trails with panoramic views over the Salaj hills and the broader Transylvanian landscape. The range is the most accessible mountain hiking destination near Zalau and provides a peaceful escape into nature.

A 16th-century wooden church dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel — a designated historical monument in Sălaj County and one of the optional stops on the accompanying-persons guided tour on Friday, 18 September.

Built around 1558 (dated by dendrochronology on the original oak beams), the church served the village of Racâș in Comuna Hida and is among Sălaj County's oldest surviving wooden monuments. Eighteenth-century interventions raised the roofline (~1761 and 1772) and added the interior mural program in 1783, attributed to the painter Ioan Pop din Unguraș.

A comprehensive 2000–2002 restoration repaired the structure and stabilised the murals. The church is registered in the List of Historical Monuments under code SJ-II-m-A-05101.