Good morning from Târgu Jiu, round two 😃

We spent another restful and comfortable night at the Upstairs Residence. Today’s destination: the Transfăgărășan – another long, winding mountain pass with spectacular views through the Carpathians. It’s a true paradise and especially popular among motorcyclists. The weather looks promising, though a few clouds are gathering around the distant mountain peaks – let’s hope we have better luck than we did on the Transalpina. 🫣

But first, we followed a recommendation from our host and stopped by the “painted trees” – without his tip, we probably would’ve just driven past and only caught a glimpse of the colorful trunks from the corner of our eyes. Painted as a reminder of the importance of free speech, the trees make for a striking visual. For me (Regine), it was a perfect photo opportunity to get creative with.
Just beyond the forest, there’s a small recreation area with a playground, an upside-down house, and a charmingly detailed witch’s castle replica that invites visitors to explore and discover.

We continued on through a varied landscape, passing small villages and even smaller settlements. As we got closer to our destination, the scenery began to change. The terrain grew rockier, the curves tighter, and soon we were winding our way through dense forest and long, sweeping switchbacks toward the most spectacular stretch of the Transfăgărășan.
Almost by chance, we stopped at a bridge deep in the mountains so Marco could fly the drone – and the view we found there was nearly beyond words. The rock face towered above us, massive and serene. High up on the cliff wall, we could just make out the entrance to a tunnel. Below the bridge, a deep valley cradled a small stream, winding its way through. A single rocky peak jutted out – and perched on top of it: a castle. We would’ve loved to explore it up close. The contrast between the light gray rock and the deep green fir trees was breathtaking. And the weather? In our favor at last – blue skies and hardly a cloud in sight.

We got back on the road and, after some great curves, passed through a tunnel and arrived at a large (dam) lake. We stopped there again for a few photos before continuing along the lake toward the actual highlight stretch of the route. On common platforms and locally, there are frequent reminders to stay inside your vehicle if you encounter bears and never to feed them. Unfortunately, few people seem to follow this advice, and we too saw bears feeding on bread that had been tossed out of car windows.
As we went on, the landscape changed noticeably once again. The Carpathian massif became more and more prominent, the forest began to thin out. The tree line looked as if it had been drawn with a ruler. Sadly, the clouds also started to return, and in the distance, it even looked like a thunderstorm might be forming. Since we were coming from the Argeș side, we first had to go through another tunnel to reach the truly grand view over the Transfăgărășan stretching down into the valley – the one so often photographed online. Because of the clouds, we didn’t spend much time on the southern side taking in the view. Still, it was already incredibly impressive.

The clouds rolled through the tunnel and on the other side we drove straight into a gray haze. We could vaguely make out a few huts, stalls and people, but drove on in the hope of finding a cloud-free view – which we managed to do. There was a good opportunity to stop 2-3 bends after the official parking lot and we were able to enjoy the really great view. I think our pictures speak for themselves at this point.

The rest of the way down into the valley was just as picturesque. Once you cross the Carpathian Mountains, the countryside opens up with wide fields where grain and corn are grown. Our final stop was to be Făgăraș, for which we looked for and found accommodation, as always from the roadside. After this day, we both knew that we wanted to spend another vacation in Romania – the country is simply too big and impressive for 8 days 😀

The Transfogaras High Road(Romanian Drumul Transfăgărășan or simply Transfăgărășan) is a pass road in Romania at an altitude of 2042 meters. The road connects the Argeș Valley in Great Wallachia with the Olt Valley in Transylvania, crossing the Făgăraș Mountains – a mountain range in the Transylvanian Alps. The Transfogarascher High Road is part of the 151-kilometer (149.82 km^[1]) long national road (Drum național) DN 7C running in a south-north direction.

In the south, national road DN 7C begins in the municipality of Bascov in Argeș County, seven kilometers northwest of the town of Pitești, where it branches off from its main route on national road 7. Via Curtea de Argeș, the road continues to Căpățânenii Ungureni, where the actual (according to various sources) 90.167 kilometers,^[2] or 117 kilometers long Transfogarasch High Road begins and ends four kilometers after Cârțișoara in Sibiu County at the junction with the European road E 68.^[3]

Conclusion: Our day on the Transfăgărășan was filled with breathtaking landscapes and unforgettable views. From the “painted trees” to the winding switchbacks and the reservoir, all the way to bear sightings – each stretch offered new highlights. Despite patches of fog, we still found clear vistas and picture-perfect scenes. The day reaffirmed one thing for us: Romania definitely deserves a spot on our list for future adventures.