One of the most frequent questions asked online or IRL by anyone visiting Romania every summer is: When will Transfăgărășan be open?
I heard it multiple times, and I even ended up asking myself the same thing after moving so close to the World's Best Road, according to what Jeremy Clarkson said in an episode of Top Gear in 2009.
Now, if you ask me, many years have passed since then, and I think a lot of things have changed and that we can name many more roads that are a lot better than Transfăgărășan.
It might sound funny coming from someone who was born in Romania and should be proud of having this famous road that people can drive on just a couple of months yearly, but the truth is that things are getting out of control, and I observe a lot of bad behaviour that shouldn't be seen while on the way to this road and Bâlea Lake.
I'd lie by saying that Transfăgărășan is not a beautiful mountain road, because it definitely is. But in the past few years, it gained a lot more attention just because there are plenty of bears sitting on the roadside begging for food from the tourists passing by, where, no matter how many warning panels are mounted asking not to feed the bears and to stay away from them, the story is repeated daily.
Hence why, more and more bears are making their way to the street, more and more tourists are feeding them while acting cool in front of the camera when being just one meter away from the bear, trying to prove something on social media while they are exposing both themselves to high risks, as well as the bears that sooner or later end up being shot for attacking one of the tourists.
But along with everything mentioned, Transfăgărășan is a very curvy mountain road that connects Sibiu and Argeș counties through the heart of the Fagaras Mountains, measuring a total length of 151 km. This is, actually, the longest mountain road of this kind from Romania, while there are a couple more scenic ones that cross the mountains, such as Transalpina, Transrarau, Transbucegi, Transapuseana, and Transsemenic.
Personally, I ended up driving on this road many times before. Whether I was just on a simple and quick trip with my family, making my way to the Arges county, or stopping by to follow one of the mountain paths that start from this road, the occasions were indeed many.
What made me return in 2026 was that my bf had never seen this road before, while I also wanted to check out a different destination nearby, so we thought about having this trip, along with my sister and her bf. Just one of those very short but meaningful trips which make you feel grateful at the end of the day for having some outdoor activities.
No need to say that we had plenty of fun. Or should I? Lol.
If you are not a fan of driving on such roads, or if you are in search of a different kind of public transport to the Balea Lake, then the cable car is a solution, no matter the season.
It's true that this one is a lot more popular during the winter when the roads are closed because of winter claiming everything as being theirs, and the snowploughs not keeping up with the meters of snow walls that are formed along the way. But the cable car is also running during the summer, and it offers a great view while it crosses above the road, offering some quick viewpoints towards some waterfalls along the way.
As I mentioned already, Transfagarasan is indeed a very beautiful mountain road to drive on. It actually feels more like a punishment to be the one driving because you won't have enough time admiring all the views offered by nature on all sides.
There are some waterfalls that have a name and can be seen next to the road, as well as some unnamed ones that usually pop up in the Spring or after rainy periods, but then there are also these sceneries with one of the mountain's most popular flowers, which is rhododendron.
This was, actually, a new thing for me as well because I only got to observe the rhododendron before while following all kinds of mountain paths leading to very steep paths on the ridge of the mountains. So I felt really blessed to get to observe it so closely during our short getaway to Transfăgărășan and Bâlea Lake.
And speaking of Bâlea Lake, of course, we had to make our way to it before following all the way back down from Transfăgărășan, because no matter how many times I've seen this lake before, it always surprises me with its beauty.
It also felt like a very refreshing moment to see some snow all around the lake, even in the middle of June when we had this trip, which I doubt will melt by the time the roads are closed again because of snow. It's a well-known situation because of the thick layers of snow that remain all around after the snow removal, which hardly melt entirely, no matter how powerful the sun's rays are.
Balea Lake is located at an altitude of 2,034 meters, and it's a glacial lake with a depth of 12 meters. Its total length is 360 meters, and swimming within is forbidden despite seeing tourists daily who want to take a jump in it.
The chalet seen in the pictures is known under the same name, Balea Chalet, and it became a landmark for anyone coming by to take a picture with both the lake and the chalet in the background.
But along with the pictures, this chalet is also a good reference point for anyone looking for hiking paths in the Fagaras Mountains, because many routes start right where this cabin is.
There is an improvised parking lot right next to the lake, which is always overcrowded by anyone looking for a free spot where to park the car, but it also comes free of charge and is surrounded by lots of food courts and souvenir shops. We had this ride quite early in the morning and managed to find a free spot on the first attempt, but by the time we made our way back home, it was already very hard to get through the cars parked on the sides of the road because there were no empty spaces in the parking lot.
Reaching Transfăgărășan, which is on the map noted as DN7C, can happen either from Cartisoara (Sibiu County) or from Bascov (Argeș County). These are the endpoints of the road that connect the two counties, the most popular and famous part of the road being around the Bâlea Lake.
Gabriela Travels is a Curator for Worldmappin and Hive Gaming communities, but also the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (350+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game and book reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 850+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.
~ @GabrielaTravels ~
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 45.60274 lat 24.61721 long The world's famous road and lake from Romania d3scr))
