August 2022

When we say “finally”, we really mean it. First time we got there by accident, but only saw a small part of it. Our navigator likes to take us on scenic routes, usually, on the way home. Second time we went there on purpose, but there was no internet connection, and we made a wrong turn.

Although we really enjoyed the views, we did not get to the highest point, which is Urdele Pass at 2145 metres. We came prepared for the third attempt: offline maps loaded, full tank and a bag of warm clothes.

Transalpina (DN67C) is a mountain road in the Southern Carpathians of Romania. It is 148 km long and is the highest road in Romania. It does not make sense to compare it to the second highest road Transfagarasan, because they both are astonishing and very different. If you only have time to visit one of them – flip a coin, otherwise visit both.

As well as Transfagarasan it is usually open during summer – early autumn season. Exact dates depend on the weather in particular year, so google (use your preferred searching engine) it in advance.

For us the significant difference with Transfagarasan was that we had a drone with us. It literally levelled up (+120 metres) our experience.

There are a few places with food and souvenirs along the road, though they are pretty basic. As usual, we started our trip around midday, but in this case it turned out to be beneficial, because sunsets in the Carpathians are stunning. Navigator suggested turning around and saving two hours of driving, however, this time we were determined to complete Transalpina end-to-end. We were back in Cluj around 2am. A note to self: there are plenty of hotels along the road, there is no need to make it back to the base immediately after completing the quest.