Transfăgărășan Highway

A Drive along Romania’s Stunning Transfăgărășan Highway

I fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) tend to be that traveler who has to try to see it all no matter what. I think half of my obsession with seeing and doing it all is that I normally don’t have a lot of time in a given place. Usually my trips last under ten days and in the case of Romania, I was literally on the ground for only five full days before I had to begin the long day and a half journey back home.

Despite only having five short days in Romania, I felt that I truly got to see quite a bit of this magical place. I had a full day in Bucharest, several days in Brasov, saw the Bran Castle and the Rasnov Fortress, went hiking in the Carparthians and on the last day took a crazy adventurous drive back from Brasov to Bucharest via the world famous Transfăgărășan Highway.

It may have been a little bit crazy but deciding to take the Transfăgărășan Highway on our last day in Romania ended up being the highlight of our trip. This says a lot for someone who hates car trips and gets carsick on windy roads. But the drive along the Transfăgărășan Highway was one of the most stunning drives I’ve taken in years and it gave me a wonderful glimpse into Romania’s majestic countryside. A place of sheep herders, men in horse drawn wagons, and women clothed in traditional long dresses. Old churches, stone walls and terra cotta rooftops awash in greenery and flowers were just as I had imagined it would be in the nostalgic Romanian countryside.

“Also labeled “the Road to the Sky”, “the Road to the Clouds”, “the Best Driving Road in the World” and even “A spectacular Monument to Earth-Moving Megalomania” the Transfăgărășan climbs, twists and descends right through Moldoveanu and Negoiu – the highest peaks in Fagaras Mountains and in Romania. This is no pass through a gap but a frontal assault, a stark and spectacular reminder of unchecked power stamping itself on an obstreperous landscape”. – Romanian Tourism

The Transfăgărășan Highway (DN7C) is the second highest paved road in Romania, after the Transalpina further west, which travels for 56 miles/90 km through the southern section of the Carpathian Mountain across the Făgăraş Mountains. The road twists and turns up to the altitude of 2,042 metres (6,699 ft) with enough hairpin curves to make your stomach leap and adrenalin rush with excitement.

Constructed from 1970-1974 during Ceaușescu’s iron-fist rule for presumably military reasons, this amazing feat of engineering required lots of money, manpower and dynamite making people question the true reasoning behind its very existence. At the time, there were plenty of other high mountain passes that could be used for strategic reasons yet  Ceaușescu instead that the Transfăgărășan Highway be built.

Today the Transfăgărășan Highway is one of the most touristic drives in Romania and driving enthusiasts, bikers, hikers, tourists and locals alike flock to this spectacular road making it one of the top scenic drives in the country.

Romanian countryside

Adventure Travel Romania TRAVEL TRAVEL BY REGION
Sunset Crater Volcano National Park Arizona

Road trip Arizona: From Sedona to the Grand Canyon

Back in October, my husband and I decided it was time to make a road trip north and show our two children the Grand Canyon. We had visited southern Arizona countless times before always staying with my parents in Tucson. Yet, we had never ventured north as a family to see one of the greatest natural wonders on earth.

Since I am not all too fond of long road trips with the kids, we decided to split our trip up into several different stops along the way. We spent the first night in sensational Sedona where we enjoyed the raw beauty of her legendary red rocks. It was also a perfect midway point to the Grand Canyon from Tucson ensuring our kids (or me) wouldn’t get too stir crazy with all the driving.

The next morning, after an early sunrise hike on the the Airport Mesa Trail Loop we set off for our long drive to the Grand Canyon making several fabulous stops along the way. Our first stop as secretly planned unbeknownst to the kids who were happily watching a DVD and had already been fed a sandwich, was to the trendy, hip college town of Flagstaff about an hour’s drive north of Sedona. We knew that there were tons of delicious foodie restaurants and found a perfect venue for lunch.

Arizona TRAVEL TRAVEL BY REGION United States