There Transfagarasan Road It has been defined as ”one of the most beautiful roads in the world”, a mountain road that develops for 151 kilometers in the southern part of the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and which connects the historical regions of Transylvania and Wallachia. Let’s discover it a little better and above all let’s look at the photos in the dedicated photo gallery.
Transfagarasan most beautiful road in the world
One of the most beautiful roads in the world is the Transfagarasan that runs through the Carpathian mountains in Romania, characterized by climbs, descents and full of hairpin bends with overhangs and sections exposed to very strong winds. It winds through the highest peaks in the country, Moldovan and Negoiu and it is the second highest Alpine pass in Romania: a fabulous and absolutely engaging road for the driver. Rich in hairpin bends, long and wide curves, steep climbs and descents, it has more tunnels and viaducts than any other Romanian road.
Transfagarasan history
The history of Transfagarasan: This road was built between 1970 and 1974 on the orders of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. Ceausescu wanted to ensure rapid military access through the mountains via a new route that would be easier to defend than other existing passes in the Southern Carpathians.
Built primarily by the military, the road came at a high financial and human cost. Young soldiers, completely untrained in the use of explosives, were put to work with nearly 6 million kg of dynamite in the harsh Alpine climate at over two thousand meters. Official figures say that about 40 soldiers lost their lives, but unofficial estimates put the death toll at hundreds.
Known ever since as “Ceausescu’s Folly,” the road was officially opened on September 20, 1974, but it was only completed in 1980 as it is today. The highest Alpine section of the road is only open from June 30 to November 1, due to heavy snow and avalanche risk that force it to close during the winter months, and sometimes even beyond.
The highlights of the Transfagarasan route, both natural and man-made, are many and spectacular. Among them are the 60-meter-high Balea waterfall, the largest stepped waterfall in the country and, at the highest point of the road, the Balea Lake with water of glacial origin; although attractive, it is best to avoid diving into its waters, since in midsummer the temperature does not exceed 3°C.
Of particular charm in the winter months is the first ice hotel in Eastern Europe – built every year since 2006 from blocks of crystalline ice extracted from the nearby lake – which can only be reached by cable car from the Balea Waterfall.
Further south, the Transfagarasan passes another impressive waterfall, the Capra Waterfall, and then, in the foothills of the Fagaras Mountains, runs along the eastern shore of the 10-kilometer-long artificial lake of Vidraru, with 465 million cubic meters of water retained by the dizzying 166-meter-high dam of the Vidraru hydroelectric reservoir.
Finally, no trip to Transylvania should overlook the Poenari Fortress. Perched on a granite ledge off the southern edge of the road, near the village of Arefu, the castle was the impregnable residence of Vlad III the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker to create the equally bloodthirsty character, Count Dracula.
The Transfagarasan is also a road that has set records, such as the one achieved by Fabio Barone in 2015 when at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 he entered the Guinness World Record by driving the tortuous Transfagarasan with an average speed of over 83 km/h (over a stretch of 12,850 meters in 9’13″442), not a professional driver, but a Ferrari enthusiast and president of the Ferrari Club Passione Rossa.
The Transfagarasan was also chosen by Mazda Europe for the test of the new 2019 Mazda MX-5 which arrives on the market with a new 2-liter 184 horsepower engine.
TRANSFAGARASAN where it is located in Romania
Here is the map from Google Maps directly on the Transfagarasan road
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