Transrarău

Bucovina’s quieter alpine traverse over the Rarău massif.

Often called Romania’s third great mountain road after the Transfăgărășan and Transalpina, the Transrarău links Pojorata in the Moldova valley with Chiril above the Bistrița, climbing the Rarău massif on county roads DJ175A and DJ175B. It tops out around 1,400 m near the Rarău chalet and the jagged Pietrele Doamnei (the Lady’s Stones), with fir forest giving way to alpine meadow at the saddle. The asphalt was widened and resurfaced in 2014, so the surface is generally good, but the road stays narrow with tight, sometimes blind hairpins and short steep ramps on either flank. It is far less trafficked than its famous siblings, which is much of its appeal. Mind sudden fog on the upper saddle, loose gravel washed onto bends after rain, and snow closure outside the warmer months.