It seems unreal so much beauty and certainly any moment spent in this area enters your soul, leaving your mind full of wonderful memories. If you end up visiting these locations in the extraordinary mountains of Făgăraş, you won’t regret it for a second. So, all you have to do is plan your trip here.

The Transfăgărășan road connects the two historical provinces of Muntenia and Transylvania, with a length of 152 km. Various locations have been built along this route that offer accommodation to tourists, who can enjoy the wonderful view around. Transfăgărășanul was built between 1970 and 1974, at the initiative of President Nicolae Ceaușescu. Although at that time Romania already had several passes of the Southern Carpathians, such as the Novaci – Săliște Alpine Road, or the old Câmpina – Predeal Road, inherited from before the communist period, the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by the Soviet troops, determined the emergency initiation of the project “Transfăgărășanului”, this representing a strategic road connecting the garrisons of Pitești and Sibiu.

Through a decision of the Council of Ministers dated December 10, 1969, the technical-economic indicators for the “Transfăgărășan strategic objective” are approved, to which the resources of the genius troops of the Romanian Army are allocated. On March 10, 1970, the Alba – Iulia Regiment started working from the north, and the 1st Râmnicu – Vâlcea Regiment from the south, in the high mountain areas, the tunnel parts to be made by the specialists of the Hydropower Construction Trust. The Vidraru Lake Contour Sector was assigned to the Ministry of Transport, the project being executed by the Design Institute for Road, Naval and Air Transport – IPTANA, and built by the Bucharest Road, Bridge and Special Work Construction Company, and the Lake Contour Sector – Bâlea Tunnel was assigned to the Ministry of Forest Economy, the project being executed by the Institute for Research and Design in the Wood Industry – ICPIL, and the construction delegated to the Forestry Construction Company – ICF, Râmnicu Vâlcea.

This road was made with huge material efforts and at the cost of the lives of soldiers and workers who contributed to its construction, the official toll being 40 dead. The official inauguration took place on September 20, 1974, in the presence of Nicolae Ceaușescu, although the works continued a few years later, for asphalting and other related activities, being finally completed in 1980.

Construction

During the construction of Transfăgărășan, approximately 3 million tons of rock were displaced, 6,520 tons of TNT were also used, and 20 tons of TNT were used to build the tunnel through the heart of Păltinul mountain and approximately 41 million were excavated cubic meters of rock, using construction materials such as: 89 tons of concrete steel, 129 tons of welded mesh, 50 tons of metal constructions, 3573 tons of cement, 7000 cubic meters of sand, 4200 linear meters of pipe, 6000 cubic meters of gravel and more.

Present

Today, the Transfăgărășan, through its beauty and uniqueness, has managed to drive a strong economic development of this area. Thousands of tourists pass through here every year, having various accommodation possibilities, in wonderful places such as Lake Vidraru, Bâlea Lac, Bâlea Cascada, Cumpăna and many other dream locations.