Transylvania 101: Transfăgărășan
The following morning, we woke up to a perfect summer’s day. Clear skies, high temperatures it was the perfect day for what we had in mind. After a relatively quick breakfast, and here I use “relative” loosely, we hopped in the car. We drove towards the Southern Carpathian Mountains, passing through the plains of central Transylvania and enjoying the warmth of the season.
Who am I kidding? It was too damn hot! It’s always too damn hot here in the summer…
After what felt like hours of sweating and driving, but was probably a lot less, the landscape started to change. On the relative flat horizon a wall of towering mountains now popped up in the distance. The mountain chain ran parallel to the road, growing ever taller and more imposing. As the road turned towards the peaks, we arrived in the town of Cârțișoara.
Cârțișoara and the Transfăgărășan
Situated in the flatlands just under the great mountains, Cârțișoara is known for being the starting point of trekking paths leading up the Făgărăș Mountains, as well as the ruins of the 13th century Cârța Monastery. Daniel decided to book us a room at a motel. We left our valuables in the safety box, meaning we put our beers in the fridge, and hopped back into the car.
Cârțișoara marks the starting point of one of Romanian’s most famous roads: the Transfăgărășan. Basically, one of the roads crossing the South Carpathians and the only one to cut straight through the Făgărăș Mountains. The road is usually closed during winter due to bad weather and dangerous conditions. Up to date information on the status and road conditions on the Transfăgărășan are available here.
The view was spectacular as we drove up the winding road. About half-way up we pulled over to enjoy the landscape. As I struggled to open the door, an unexpected ice cold wind blasted me in the face. Blowing from the direction of the high peaks, it was quite the radical change from the weather we experienced ten minutes before, in Cârțișoara.
Clouds were persistently hovering over the mountain, while the plains from whence we came remained visibly sunny. I then realized that I was highly underdressed for the occasion. However, since it was going to be just a short one day trip, I was confident I could power through with my shorts, sleeveless shirt and a summer jacket. The lack of boots was no issue either, at least for now. After all, it was summer and we weren’t going to hike up anywhere crazy!
Bâlea Lake…
Another ten minutes later, we stopped at Bâlea Lake – the name of which has been an eternal conundrum for me. Ok, so let me explain… When referring to a lake in Romanian, the general rule is the articulated word Lake “Lacul” comes before the given name of the lake. For example Lake/Lacul Vidraru, Lake/Lacul Sf. Ana, Lake/Lacul Iezer, etc. But then you have Bâlea Lake/Lac. Yeah, it’s not called Lacul Bâlea, but Bâlea Lac. Why you do this to me Bâlea? Why you got to be so rebel?
Bâlea Lake and the cabin bearing the same name, mark the highest point of the Transfăgărășan road. From this point on an almost one kilometer tunnel cuts through the mountain connecting its northern and southern slopes. We weren’t planning on crossing this time though. Instead, we left the car in the parking lot, took our backpacks, and started stumbling up the mountain in search of adventure.
The following hours would prove just how stupid it is to venture up the Făgărăș Mountains unprepared…