Bucharest, June 21, 2023 – National Road 7C (DN7C), nicknamed Transfăgărășan (from the prefix “trans-” + Făgăraș) connects Muntenia with Transylvania, crossing the Făgăraș Mountains, the highest in Romania, which is part of the Southern Carpathians. It is an asphalted road, reaching the tunnel near Bâlea Lake at an altitude of 2042 m. The Transfăgărășan is the second highest altitude road in the ranking of alpine roads in Romania, after the Transalpina (DN67C) in the Parâng Mountains, which goes up to 2145 m.
The road starts near the city of Pitesti (Arges county), passes by the Vidraru hydropower plant, from here the road climbs serpentines and viaducts, passing through three shorter tunnels, and reaches the Vidraru Dam (one of the largest in Romania). Next, the road goes up, reaching the southern entrance of the tunnel that passes under the crest of the Făgăraș Mountains, between the peaks of Iezerul Caprei (2414 m) and Paltinul (2398 m). This tunnel is the longest road tunnel in Romania, having a length of 887 m, with a height of 4.4 m, a width of 6 m and a sidewalk with a width of 1 m, being electrically lit and naturally ventilated.
Then, the road passes near the Bâlea waterfall, a cascading waterfall of approximately 68 m, the largest of its kind in Romania, located at an altitude of approximately 1230 m.a.s.l., then reaching the Bâlea Cascada Hut. From there to the intersection with DN1 (European road E68), near the city of Sibiu, it is almost 20 km.
Transfăgărășan passes over 830 footbridges and 27 viaducts, for its construction it is necessary to dislodge several million tons of rock; for this, 6520 tons of dynamite were used, of which 20 tons only in the Capra-Bâlea tunnel, as well as many other construction materials.
Along the southern part of the road, near the village of Arefu, is the Poenari Castle. The castle was the residence of Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula.
This year, on the top of the mountain there is a substantial layer of snow on both sides of the road. For this reason, those who dare to cross the mountains of Romania via Transfagarasan must pay special attention to the weather.
According to the National Company of Highways and National Roads in Romania, on the road sector between km 104, Pişcu Negru area (Argeş) and km 129+ 900m (Bâlea Cascada) in Sibiu county, traffic is prohibited at night, between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m..
Also, traffic participants are asked to respect the existing road signs, considering that there are traffic restrictions and dangerous areas on this route.
It is also mentioned that on the road, in the Argeş area, stones may fall due to the rains of the last few days, and the rehabilitation of the road is not completed in the area of the Vidraru Dam in Argeş county.
Considered by many connoisseurs to be the most spectacular road in the world, Transfăgărăşanul offers superb images in every season. Jeremy Clarkson, one of the makers of Top Gear, claimed, in 2009, after driving Transfăgărășan, that he walked on “the most spectacular road in the world”. In the show that the “Top Gear” team – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – made in Romania, they said about Transfăgăraşan that it is the most amazing road they have ever seen.
