Bicaz is a town of some eight thousand people at the eastern end of the Bicaz Gorge, in the Moldavian foothills of the Carpathians, and it is known for two big things, a dam and a cement works. The dam, completed in 1960 on the Bistrița river, holds back Izvorul Muntelui, the largest reservoir in Romania by volume, a long arm of water that fills the valley and reaches far into the hills. The cement works, a concrete reminder of the communist industrial plan, still dominates one side of town. It sounds grim, but the lake is beautiful and the hills around it are green.
The real attraction is what lies to the west. Beyond Bicaz the road DN12C enters the Bicaz Gorge, or Cheile Bicazului, where limestone walls rise sheer on both sides for hundreds of metres, and the road squeezes between them beside a stream, passing through hairpins so tight that big lorries have to reverse. The gorge is narrow, damp and spectacular, with the sky reduced to a strip, and the road is lined with stalls selling wool socks, honey and cheeses. Above it, the road climbs to Lacu Roșu, the Red Lake, formed in 1837 when an earthquake sent a mountainside crashing into the valley and dammed the stream. Dead tree trunks still stand in the water.
The road connects Moldavia to Transylvania, and is used by heavy trucks, so the narrow sections can be tricky, with oncoming lorries swinging wide on the bends. Take it slowly and watch the surface, which can be wet and slippery. A quiet weekday morning is best. In summer, cool air flows out of the gorge, and in winter ice makes it hazardous.
Bicaz has fuel stations, supermarkets and small restaurants, so stock up here, because the road beyond has few services. In the villages you can try mămăligă, a polenta, with sour cream and cheese, and the sausages known as mici, grilled and served with mustard. Late spring and early autumn give the best conditions, with clear air and fewer crowds. The smell of pine and wet rock in the gorge is very strong.