Bâlea Lake and the Transfăgărășan

Bâlea is a glacial lake at an altitude of 2,034 m, in the Făgăraș massif, Sibiu County, with a surface of about 4.65 hectares and a maximum depth of around 11.35 m. The lake basin was carved out by Quaternary glaciers, and the glacial cirque in which it lies is one of the most representative in the Romanian Carpathians. As early as 1932, the lake and about 180 hectares around it were declared a scientific reserve, the area being home to protected alpine flora and fauna specific to the high alpine zone, including the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). The lake is the highest point of the Transfăgărășan, officially known as DN7C — a spectacular 151 km road crossing the Făgăraș Mountains from north to south, reaching a maximum altitude of 2,042 m in the area of the Bâlea tunnel (the longest road tunnel in Romania). Built between 1970 and 1974, largely by the army's engineering troops, the road was conceived as a strategic route linking the garrisons of Sibiu and Pitești, in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In 2009, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson called it "the best road in the world", cementing its international fame. Because of heavy snow and avalanche risk, the alpine section remains closed to traffic in winter, usually between November and June. During this period, Bâlea Lake is reached only by cable car, from Bâlea Cascadă. Also in winter, an Ice Hotel — with rooms, a bar and a chapel — is built on the lakeshore from blocks cut from the lake's own ice, operating since 2006 and the only one of its kind in Eastern Europe. Bâlea Lake is worth visiting for its high-altitude alpine scenery, the legendary road that serves it and the special experience offered by the Făgăraș area, both in summer and in winter.