Transalpina road is the highest road in Romania and even the entire chain of the Carpathian Mountains, both in Romania and beyond, reaching the maximum altitude in Step Urdele at 2145 m. The road across the Parang Mountains from N to S is parallel to the Olt Valley and Jiu Valley being placed between them. Although is higher, older and more beautiful than Transfagarasan is less known because Transalpina, although it is classified national road DN 67C, it was never paved until 2009. Transalpina was built by the Roman armies on their way to Sarmisegetusa Regia, paved with stone by King Charles II (is called The King's Road by the locals), by the Germans armies in 1930 and rehabilitated in the Second World War and then forgotten. The fact that was forgotten and became a hard way to go, Transalpina helped to keep untouched the wilderness and charm that few places in the country have. It is one of the few roads in the country that can be reached by car up to ..... clouds and just above them.
The Transfagarasan or DN7C is the most dramatic and second-highest paved road in Romania. Built as a strategic military route, the 90 km of twists and turns run north to south across the tallest sections of the Southern Carpathians, between the highest peak in the country, Moldoveanu, and the second highest, Negoiu. The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia, and the cities of Sibiu and Pitești.
The road was constructed between 1970 and 1974, during the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu. It came as a response to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu wanted to ensure quick military access across the mountains in the event the Soviets attempted a similar move into Romania. Consequently, the road was built mainly with military forces, at a high cost both financially and from a human standpoint—roughly 6 million kilograms of dynamite were used on the northern face, and the official records mention that about 40 soldiers lost their lives in building accidents.
Transfagarasan was declared by Top Gear presenters World’s Best Driving Road but they didn't have the chance to try Transalpina, who knows... maybe they will change their minds.
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