Transfăgărășan

The Transfăgărășan (DN7C) is Romania’s most spectacular mountain road and one of Europe’s most famous driving routes. Built between 1970 and 1974 on the orders of Nicolae Ceaușescu as a strategic military route through the Făgăraș Mountains, it reaches a maximum altitude of 2042 meters, making it the second-highest paved road in the country. The construction was a monumental feat of engineering, requiring the blasting of millions of tons of rock and tragically costing dozens of lives.

Travelers along the roughly 90-kilometer route are rewarded with breathtaking scenery: the glacial Bâlea Lake, the Bâlea Waterfall, a tunnel beneath the main Carpathian ridge, and dizzying hairpin turns climbing the northern face. On the southern side, the road winds through ancient beech and fir forests, passing the imposing Vidraru Dam and its vast reservoir.

The opening season is short, typically from late June or July through the end of October, depending on weather conditions. During summer, the Transfăgărășan attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, from cyclists and motorcyclists to tourists eager to take in the alpine panorama. The road gained worldwide fame after being featured on the television show Top Gear, where it was declared “the best road in the world.”