Europe’s most dangerous road is nearly 100 miles long and gives motorists one of the most unique views on the continent. The Transfăgărășan Highway, also known just as Transfăgărășan or designation DN7C, is a 98-mile-long motorway in Romania infamous for its crooked composition.
The highway is a paved road etched into the Carpathian Mountains and, at 2,000 metres, is the second highest in the country. The height gifts people one of the most stunning views in Romania, an already beautiful country.
But the local scenery is tricky to enjoy, as motorists must work their way around a selection of hairpin twists and turns that have given the road a reputation as one of the most dangerous on the continent.
Transfăgărășan was built over four years between 1970 and 1974 on the orders of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who sought to create a strategic route around the Fagaras Mountains.
He hoped the route would allow his government to quickly ferry troops north during a possible invasion from the USSR, with Czechoslovakia having fallen to the “Evil Empire” just a few years earlier in 1968.
Now, the route is a thoroughfare that connects two historic regions – Transylvania and Wallachia. Unusually, it shuts for most of the year, with travellers only able to use it to its full potential for a few months.
Road authorities shutter the nearly 100-mile stretch from October to as late as June because of snowfall, but depending on the weather, it may also close during the summertime.
When it is open, it is a well-trodden route through the Romanian mountains and also functions as a track for cyclists embarking on the Transfăgărășan Epic Bike Ride.
The route has become so famous over the years that it even earned the admiration of Jeremy Clarkson.
In 2009, while he was still hosting Top Gear, Mr Clarkson proclaimed Transfăgărășan the “best road in the world”.
At the same time, its twists and turns also mean that travelling on the road can prove dangerous.
People died on the road before it opened, with 40 people having lost their lives during construction, and accidents have since claimed several more motorists.