Bicaz Gorges

The Bicaz Gorges carry the road between Moldavia and Transylvania through a limestone defile so tight that in the narrowest section, known as the Gâtul Iadului or Neck of Hell, the cliffs lean in overhead and drivers lose the sky entirely. The road was blasted into the rock in the 1930s and still hugs the wall, with overhangs low enough that lorries creep through. Above it the walls climb several hundred metres in sheer grey plates, streaked with rain and stitched with pines that grow out of cracks at improbable angles. The defile runs for about eight kilometres, is part of the Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș National Park and has become one of the country's main rock climbing areas, so on any dry weekend there are ropes hanging on the shaded faces. Souvenir stalls crowd the widest pull-off, selling sheepskin waistcoats and painted wood, which is either part of the charm or the ruin of it depending on your mood.

Highlights

• The Neck of Hell - the narrowest section, where overhangs nearly close over the road.
• The climbing walls - hundreds of routes on the grey limestone faces.
• Marked footpaths - trails climbing out of the gorge to viewpoints above.
• The stall strip - a dense row of craft and souvenir stands at the main widening.

When to go

Late spring to autumn; the road stays open in winter but ice and rockfall make it unpleasant. Early morning is by far the best time, before coach traffic fills the pull-offs and the light is still raking down the walls. Autumn colour in the beech below the cliffs is excellent.

Good to know

This is a road first and a landscape second, and that shapes the visit: there is no quiet contemplation with a stream of cars a metre away, and the noise bounces off the walls. Parking is chaotic in peak season and pedestrians walk in the carriageway. Rockfall is a genuine hazard after rain and thaw. Do the walk up out of the gorge if you want it to feel like nature rather than a traffic queue.

Nearby

Red Lake sits at the eastern mouth of the gorge; the Hășmaș ridge rises to the south.

Key facts