Transfagarasan

The Transfagarasan Road in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania - also known as Ceausescu's Folly - connects the legendary regions of Transylvania and Wallachia. Built in the early 1970s as a strategic military route, the Transfagarasan is now one of the most famous roads in Europe, especially popular among motorcyclists because of its incredible twists, hairpin turns, and spectacular views.But it has a dark secret, one that still haunts the peaks of the Carpathians: blind ambition to construct a road superior to the Transalpina Highway drove Romania’s tyrant Nikolae Ceausescu mad, and he paid no attention to the human cost of the feverish rush to finish the work. Ceausescu's Folly claimed 40 lives of soldiers and hundreds of lives of civilian workers: in a frantic hurry to ensure the invading Soviet Army would be unable to cross the mountain passes, Ceausescu used 6000 tons of dynamite to blast through rock and stone. Hundreds died as a result, and even though the road was opened in 1974, the work continued for six more years draining the country’s finances dry.Today, the Transfagarasan is a #1 tourist destination for bikers and car fans alike, thanks to Jeremy Clarkson and his team who made the road famous. To avoid both four and two - wheeled crowds and have the road all to yourself, go there in late September...but be prepared for cold, fog, and some snow on the peaks of the mountains!

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