Bâlea Lake
A glacial lake at just over 2,000 metres, at the top of the Transfăgărășan. Reachable by car in summer and by cable car when the road is shut.
- Best for
- Anyone who wants to stand at 2,000 metres without a climb
- Seasonality
- Reachable by road only when the Transfăgărășan is open. The cable car from the northern side runs at other times, weather permitting.
The background
Bâlea sits in a glacial cirque in the Făgăraș mountains at an altitude of about 2,034 metres, just below the highest point of the Transfăgărășan. It is a protected natural monument, and it is one of the few places in Romania where you can be at that altitude having done no walking at all.
Two ways up, depending on the month
In the warm months you drive, because the road goes there. When the road is closed by snow — which is most of the year — the cable car from Bâlea Cascada on the northern side runs up to the lake instead, in normal conditions. It does not run in high wind or lightning, and that decision is made on the day.
That combination is what makes the lake a year-round destination while the road is a seasonal one, and it is worth knowing before you write off a winter trip.
Once you are there
It is a short walk around the water, and it is the trailhead for serious routes into the Făgăraș ridge — a range that is genuinely alpine and not to be underestimated by anyone continuing past the lake.
Hiking in the Făgăraș Mountains — 8 days
The Făgăraș ridge is genuinely alpine. This is the guided version of it.
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