The Transfagarasan: A Driver's Guide to the World's Most Famous Road
Ninety kilometres, 2,042 metres, five tunnels and one Balea Tunnel. Romania's DN7C is usually open from late June to late October. Here is how to drive it properly.
The Transfagarasan, Romania's DN7C, crosses the Fagaras Mountains of the Southern Carpathians between Wallachia and Transylvania. Built between 1970 and 1974 as a strategic military route after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and officially opened on 20 September 1974, it climbs to 2,042 metres at Balea Lake, making it Romania's second-highest paved pass. In November 2009, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson called it the best road in the world. The road has spent the years since trying to live up to the title, and mostly succeeding.
The Transfagarasan rewards patience more than pace.
When to go
The road is usually closed from late October until late June because of snow; in some years it stays open into November, in others it can close even in summer. The reliable window is late June to late October. Check conditions before travelling: the road is administered by Romania's national road company CNAIR, which announces seasonal openings and closures, and signage at Curtea de Arges in the south and Cartisoara in the north carries current status, and the Balea Tunnel gates close with the road. In winter the lake is reachable only by cable car from Balea Cascada.
The route
Allow a full day. The southern ascent from Curtea de Arges passes the Vidraru Dam and climbs through the mountains to the summit at Balea Lake, threading the 884-metre Balea Tunnel, Romania's longest road tunnel, near the top. The northern descent toward Cartisoara is the famous part: a cascade of hairpins and S-curves dropping past Balea Waterfall. Average speed across the whole road is around 40 km/h. The Transfagarasan has more tunnels and viaducts than any other road in Romania, five tunnels in total.
How to drive it
This is not a road for lap times. Traffic in high summer is heavy, the surface varies, and the drops are unguarded in places. Go early in the morning, drive the northern descent first if coming from the south, and treat Poenari Castle, the mountain residence of Vlad Tepes near Arefu, as a reason to stop rather than a photo drive-by. Fuel up before the climb; there is nothing at the top but the lake, the chalets and the view. The Transfagarasan rewards patience more than pace. That is precisely why Clarkson's title has stuck.
