The Bâlea Lake tunnel marks the roof of the Transfăgărășan, the highway that crosses the Făgăraș Mountains in Romania, and at 2,042 metres the air is thin and cold, even in summer. The road was ordered by Nicolae Ceaușescu after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, as a military route in case of an invasion from the east, and was built between 1970 and 1974 largely by army conscripts using dynamite and hand tools. It was an extraordinary and costly effort, and many workers lost their lives. Today it is known as one of the best driving and riding roads in the world.
The tunnel, about 880 metres long, passes under the main ridge, and just beyond its northern portal sits Bâlea Lake, a glacial tarn in a high cirque surrounded by sharp, grey peaks. A cluster of cabins and a small hotel sit on the shore, and in summer visitors arrive in large numbers by car, motorcycle and cable car, which climbs from the northern side. In midwinter an ice hotel is built on the lake. Chamois and marmots live among the rocks, and bears roam the forests on the lower slopes, so keep food out of sight and do not feed them.
The riding is superb: tight hairpins, long ramps and fast sweepers along a narrow, well-surfaced road, with sheer drops and endless views. On the south side the road passes Vidraru Dam, a huge arch dam from 1966, and the ruins of Poenari Castle, associated with Vlad the Impaler, are a short distance away. Conditions are fickle. Fog, rain and wind can arrive at any moment, and ice is possible at the top even in July. The road is closed to traffic in winter, normally from late autumn until around late June or July, and the dates vary, so check them.
Fuel is not available near the summit, so fill up in Curtea de Argeș to the south or at Cârțișoara on the north side, near Victoria. Mountain restaurants sell soup, grilled sausage and polenta. Weekends are busy, so go on a weekday and leave early.