South of Kolozsvar lies the little town of Torda, with its salt mines and brine baths, which were known even at the time of the Romans. To the West of this town we find the famous Torda Gorge, a superb cleft hollowed in the rocks by an impetuous torrent, (the Hesdat, with curious rocky formations and several caves, which have many times served as places of refuge for the population. The gorge, in parts, is only a few meters wide, but in others broadens out into a basin. A Shelter-House built by the Transylvanian, Carpathian Association, facilitates the visit to this interesting spot.

Further on, South of the Maros, is Gyulafehervar the Roman Apulum, with a fortress built by Charles VI, in which stands the Cathedral of St. Michael, the most important Roman Church of Hungary. On completion of the present restoration, this will be one of the noblest buildings in the country. The Hunyadys, Queen Isabella (died 1559) and her son John Sigismund, were buried here, their sarcophagi exist even today. During the War of Independence, the Castle of Gyulafehervar played a very sad part; the Austrian general Horak disarmed the Hungarian population, and abandoned it without defence, to the cruelties of the Romanian mountaineers of Transylvania.

Gyulafehervar, is dominated by picturesque mountains belonging in part, to the Transylvanian Ore Mountains. They are crowned by fantastic rocky summits and mighty stone peaks, while savage torrents and foaming waterfalls rush wildly down their valleys. The magnificent basalt peak of the Detonata, with its columns resembling the pipes of an organ, is the finest point of the mountains, but the imposing Mount Vulcan also attracts attention. Both can be easily reached from the mining towns, scattered over the mountains (Abrudbanya, Zalatna, Offenbanya), they are beautiful excursions for the friends of nature and tourists. The large ore-mines of this district also deserve a visit. The valley of the Aranyos River, through which the railway runs from Gyulafehervar to Zalatna, is rich in natural beauties. From the upper part of this romantic valley, we can ascend the Bihar mountains, which possess quite an alpine character.

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Adapted from Illustrated Description of Hungary and its Capital