RIDING ROMANIACS ROMANIA
Remote rural idylls, fantastic scenery and home to the best road in Europe
Why ride in Romania?
Romania is a rustic beauty tucked underneath that crease on your map. Often overlooked, it sits at the crossroads to Central, East and Southeast Europe and is bordered by Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, the Black Sea, Bulgaria and Serbia – making it just too far out for a weekend blast. And that’s a good thing.
It feels left alone. Haunted Transylvanian forests are covered in mist and mystery. Medieval castles, citadels and fortresses perch atop hills as a reminder of Romania’s bloody battles throughout the Middle Ages. The Carpathian Mountain range towers for 600 miles through Romania and soars 2500m high. Gorgeous rural villages pepper the landscapes and exploring it feels like going back in time.
What are the roads like?
Out of this world. The Transalpina road literally translates to ‘land beyond the mountains’ and is the highest road in Romania. It was originally built by the Romans, constructed in the late 1930s by King Carol II, rebuilt by the Germans during WWII and then forgotten about. It was only opened to the public around ten years ago. The entire country is filled with little gems like this, from roads that slice their way through gorges to flowing alongside rivers and crawling over mountains. But while the Romanian road network is brilliant in terms of layout, riding conditions aren’t always. You need to keep your wits about you and look out for other drivers, potholes, a lack of barriers on mountain passes and wildlife. Not to mention horse-drawn carts.