DN7C
Transfăgărășan
Length
90km
Elevation
2,042m at Bâlea Lake
Hairpins
Dozens of unmarked switchbacks
The best road in the world.
The Map
The Transfăgărășan traverses the Southern Carpathians between Curtea de Argeș to the south and Sibiu in the north. The road crosses the main ridge at Bâlea Lake — a glacial lake at 2,042m — via a tunnel when the summit road is closed, and via an extraordinary open road section when it is not. From above, the southern approach resembles a snake moving across a topographic map — curves that could only exist because the mountain demanded them and the engineers obeyed.
The Approach
From the south you enter the Argeș valley and begin following the river upstream. The road is unremarkable for the first portion — a normal mountain road in an ordinary river valley. Then the gradient increases and the first series of switchbacks appears. The Vidraru Dam appears to the left — a dramatic 1960s hydroelectric dam that signals the landscape is about to become extraordinary. Above the dam the road tightens, the valley walls steepen, and the Carpathians reveal their scale.
The Ascent
The Transfăgărășan lacks the numbered hairpins of the Stelvio but compensates with scale and variety. The southern ascent climbs through dense conifer forest, emerging onto open rock face near the summit with views extending to the Danube plain on clear days. The summit tunnel leads to the northern descent — equally dramatic, following a completely different character of mountain landscape: the Transylvanian plateau extending north in terracotta and green.
“This is the best road in the world. I am not usually given to hyperbole. I am now.”
— Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear, upon reaching the Transfăgărășan summit
History
Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered the road built in 1970 following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. His military strategists determined that Romania required a rapid-deployment route across the Carpathians. Construction lasted four years; forty soldiers died during the blasting and building operations. The road opened in 1974. Ceaușescu used it once, for a state drive, and it fell into relative obscurity until Top Gear's 2009 series declared it "the best road in the world" and Romanian tourism was transformed overnight.
What to Drive Here
Practical Notes
The upper section closes at first snowfall and reopens when snow has cleared, typically July. Check Romanian road authority (CNAIR) for current status. No fuel between Curtea de Argeș and Sibiu along the summit route. Bâlea Lake area becomes crowded in July–August; early mornings provide solitude. The northern descent through the Sibiu valley offers different character to the southern ascent — do both directions.
Best Season
July through October
Access
Closed October/November – June/July
Surface
Asphalt, variable width
Country
Romania, Carpathian Mountains