How we crossed the Carpathians

A few months ago, my parents, my boyfriend and I decided to go on a one-day road trip and we chose the Parang Mountains as our destination. A new road has recently been built, called Transalpina, which took us across the Parang, all the while being accompanied by a breathtaking view. Our initial plan was to go on the other side of the mountains, check out Horezu (of which you can read here), and then go halfway back on the Transalpina, take a turn to the right, and check out some barrage-lakes.

the plan

the plan

The Romanians have declared this road “the tallest and most beautiful of the country”. Its highest point is 2,145 meters high. I know, I know, it’s practically nothing compared to the Mont Blanc or the Himalayas, but I can assure you, the view was awesome!

The road is a bit bumpy, although it was recently asphalted, there are still places where it crashed in because of the movement of the land, so don’t expect it to be perfect.

the road up I.

the road up I.

our pathway across Parang

our pathway across Parang

In some places, the road gets pretty steep and it’s quite dangerous when a car stops and can’t go further, so make sure you check your car to be fit for this kind of road.

steep drive

steep road

You should also know that this route is so fresh, that they didn’t even have time yet to put up any crash barriers, so beware of rocks rolling down, so be sure not to go to close to the right side. Oh, and you should leave the driving to a somewhat experienced chauffeur, not someone who just got its license and has no experience with mountain roads. 🙂

no railing, but a cool view

no railing, but a cool scenery

As we “climbed” higher and higher, the view got more and more awesome. A few lakes accompanied us along the way, which made the landscape even prettier:

Lake Oasa I

Lake Oasa I

Lake Oasa II.

Lake Oasa II.

opposite to the lake

opposite to the lake

almost at the top!

almost at the top!

Although the Transalpina route is not longer than 150 kms, it took as 3-4 hours to get to the top, because of the road conditions and the traffic. It turns out, a lot of people travel to see this road and the Parang sightings each day, so don’t be surprised of all the people you’ll see along the way.

2.145 meters high

2.145 meters high

Arpi enjoying the view from a pit

Arpi enjoying the view from a pit

In the past few years they’ve not only built a road, but a ski resort as well, called Ranca, very popular among people from the capital, Bucharest.

Ranca ski resort

Ranca ski resort

Another very popular tourist attraction, if I may say so, are the donkeys along the route. Well, as you can see, they are sometimes even ON the road, and even though people were honking at them, they stood there steadily pretending not to hear them, not even moving their ears.

donkeys

donkeys

Of course, we stopped hundreds of times and took thousands of pictures. Here’s a family photo with my parents:

meet the parents

meet the parents

After the Horezu experience, we went back a bit and went to see some lakes. The one on the first  photo, Vidra, is one of the biggest aggregation lakes in Romania.

lake Vidra

lake Vidra

lake Malaia

lake Malaia

us at Lake Bradisor

us at Lake Bradisor

So tell me, have you ever had any adventures on Alpine routes ? 🙂

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