Transalpina, Mountain road through Parâng Mountains, Romania
Transalpina is a mountain road in the Parâng Mountains that runs for 148 kilometers through Gorj, Vâlcea, Sibiu and Alba counties. The Urdele Pass at 2145 meters is the highest point, where the road crosses open meadows and rocky slopes.
The route began as Poteca Dracului, a shepherd path used by Mărginimea Sibiului herders crossing into Wallachia; Austrian authorities proposed a road here in 1731. King Carol II ordered reconstruction for horse-drawn mountain artillery, carried out 1934–1939 and inaugurated in 1939 as the Royal Road. German forces rehabilitated it again in World War II.
The name Transalpina comes from Latin texts of Țara Românească and means "the country beyond the mountains". The route was long called Poteca Dracului, the Devil's Path, a name replaced by Drumul Regelui, the King's Road, after Carol II inaugurated it in 1939.
The road is officially a work in progress and is only cleared of snow on the Novaci–Rânca and Dobra–Oașa Dam sections. It is open mid-May to mid-October, daytime only, with a 30 km/h speed limit and a 7.5-tonne weight limit; crossing takes at least three hours.
The old name Poteca Dracului, or Devil's Path, referred to the whole shepherd route, not just Urdele Pass. The road was renamed Drumul Regelui, the King's Road, after Carol II drove the full route himself at the 1939 opening.
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