Traveling Through Transylvania in 4 Days -

Traveling Through Transylvania in 4 Days

April 16, 2024

Express Journey Through Romanian Citadels and Picturesque Carpathian Mountains

Despite the fact that Ukraine is sharing a border with Romania, visiting there somehow never crossed my mind before. This country was never on my personal must-visit list. But when friends spontaneously suggested a weekend trip, the idea appealed to me. As it often happens: the less you expect, the more impressions you get in the end.

Until the summer of 2019, Transylvania was associated with, probably like many others, mainly with vampires and Dracula, who became popular thanks to Bram Stoker. But in reality, everything turned out to be much more interesting

I’ll say right away, our route from Kyiv to Chernivtsi to Sighișoara to Sibiu to Brașov came together in such a way that we passed by the famed castle in Bran late at night and didn’t plan to stop there. So there won’t be any pictures of the castle where the legendary Vlad the Impaler never actually set foot.

Instead, there will be photos of other interesting places, including fortified churches and churches, of which there were much more along the way than one could imagine. Especially if you don’t prepare for the trip in advance.

The entire route through the Romanian Carpathians, which significantly differ from the Ukrainian ones, unfortunately not in favor of the latter, reveals an incredible number of unique landscapes. And a new picturesque scene unfolds almost at every turn. Of course, one of the main jewels of the route is the famous Transfăgărășan mountain road with the glacial Lake Bâlea at the highest point of the road. It’s best to find yourself here on weekdays in the warm season because you can easily get stuck in traffic on the ascent: the number of travelers is staggering, but only at this spot.

Unfortunately, you can’t just stop wherever you want along the route: most mountain roads are narrow, and there aren’t many specially designated pull-offs or viewpoints. Additionally, the picturesque forests and wonderful clearings are often behind fences and are private property. But if you take secondary, less touristy routes, you can see and experience much more.”