Zishaan Hayath Ride: The Carpathians

Route Map

Nine days round the Southern Carpathians out of Sibiu, built around Romania's two great passes. South over the Transalpina, the highest road in the country, and back north over the Transfăgărăşan and its wall of hairpins. Between them the Saxon towns – Sibiu, Sighişoara, Biertan – and the castles at Bran and Corvin. A summer ride only: both passes are gated shut the rest of the year. September is the window — after the crowds, before the gates.

Day	Route	Distance	Highlights	Night stay
01	Sibiu, the old town on foot	—	The Bridge of Lies and the Council Tower over the Saxon square	Sibiu
02	Sibiu → Corvin Castle at Hunedoara → Dacian fortresses → Sebeş	200 km 5 h	Corvin Castle's drawbridge and Gothic keep over Hunedoara	Sebeş
03	Transalpina: Sebeş → Urdele pass → Rânca → Curtea de Argeş	230 km 6 h	Urdele pass at 2145 m, the highest tarmac in Romania	Curtea de Argeş
04	Transfăgărăşan: Curtea de Argeş → Vidraru dam → Bâlea → Sibiu	160 km 5 h	Bâlea lake at 2042 m where the road tunnels the Făgăraş ridge	Sibiu
05	Sibiu → Biertan → Sighişoara → Viscri → Braşov	210 km 5 h	Sighişoara's clock tower over the inhabited medieval citadel	Braşov
06	Braşov → Bran → Râşnov → Peleş at Sinaia → Braşov	170 km 4 h	Bran castle riding its crag above the pass into Wallachia	Braşov
07	Braşov → Bicaz gorge → Lacu Roşu → Gheorgheni	230 km 5 h	The Bicaz gorge road chiselled straight into the cliff wall	Gheorgheni
08	Gheorgheni → the Rarău massif → Piatra Neamţ	200 km 5 h	The Pietrele Doamnei crags rising over the Bukovina forest	Piatra Neamţ
09	Piatra Neamţ → Sighişoara → Sibiu	280 km 6 h	Rolling Saxon farmland closing the loop back to Sibiu	Sibiu

Notes

The whole ride hangs on the season. Both great passes are gated shut for most of the year: the Transfăgărăşan opens around the first of July and closes with the first snow near the end of October, the Transalpina from about mid-May to mid-October, and both are daytime only. Ride it before late June or after October and you meet a closed barrier at the top and the loop falls apart. July to early September is the safe window.

Carry an International Driving Permit, and buy the rovinieta road vignette online before you ride – it is required on the national roads and the plates are checked automatically. Fill up before each pass; there is no fuel on the high sections.

The money is the Romanian leu, not the euro. Expect assertive overtaking, slow trucks and the odd horse cart on the two-lane roads, and heavy weekend traffic on both passes in summer. All paved but relentlessly twisty – a road, sport-touring or adventure bike is ideal.