Balea Lake Webcam – Transfagarasan Alpine Views

The Balea Lake Webcam looks across a glacial lake sitting at 2,034 meters (6,673 feet) in Romania’s Fagaras Mountains, at the point where the Transfagarasan road reaches its highest section. Water fills most of the frame, with chalet buildings on the shore beyond it and the walls of the glacial cirque rising behind. The scene rarely holds still. Cloud pours over the ridge and closes the basin in minutes, then lifts to leave the surface flat and dark. Cars and coaches gather at the road’s end through the short summer, and once the pass shuts the basin empties and fills with snow. The camera sits high enough that what happens in frame often has nothing to do with the weather in the valley below.

About Balea Lake

Balea Lake fills a glacial cirque on the northern flank of the Fagaras Mountains, the highest range in the Southern Carpathians, inside the commune of Cartisoara in Sibiu County. The lake and about 4.7 hectares (11.6 acres) of ground around it were declared a nature reserve in 1932. Two chalets stay open all year on the shore, alongside a meteorological station and a Salvamont mountain rescue post, which keeps the shore occupied through the months when the road to it is buried.

The road is the Transfagarasan, or DN7C, built between 1970 and 1974 as a strategic military route and opened on 20 September 1974. It runs 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Bascov near Pitesti to the junction with the DN1 near Sibiu, climbing to 2,042 meters (6,699 feet) just south of the lake, which makes it the second highest paved road in Romania after the Transalpina. Past the lake it enters the Balea Tunnel, 884 meters (2,900 feet) long and the longest road tunnel in the country. Sibiu lies about 77 kilometers (48 miles) away, the town of Fagaras 68 kilometers (42 miles), and Curtea de Arges 85 kilometers (53 miles) around on the southern side.

The crest above the basin carries the two highest summits in Romania: Moldoveanu at 2,545 meters (8,350 feet) and Negoiu at 2,535 meters (8,317 feet). Below the lake, the outflow drops over Balea Waterfall, a 60 meter (197 foot) cascade that is the largest stepped waterfall in Romania and marks the lower step of the same glacial system.

Weather and Climate at Balea Lake

Monthly averages logged at the station beside the lake over the past decade read like the alpine zone they come from. August is the warmest month, with a daily mean near 11 C (52 F) and average highs around 13 C (56 F), and July sits just behind it. Spring arrives late: April still averages about -1 C (30 F) and May only reaches 4 C (39 F). September falls back to 7 C (45 F) and October to 3 C (37 F). Snow is not confined to winter at this height, and a September afternoon can leave fresh white along the shoreline while the valley farms 1,500 meters below stay green.

Winter is long and cold. January and February both average about -7 C (20 F), with mean lows near -9 C (16 F), and the lake freezes solid enough that blocks cut out of it are used as building material. The Transfagarasan is normally closed from late October until late June because of snow, and a bad storm can shut it in summer as well. Cloud is the other constant. Negoiu, on the ridge to the west, carries a reputation as the most atmospherically unstable point in the country, and the basin can go from clear to whiteout within a few minutes.

Things to Do Near Balea Lake

The drive is the main draw. The Transfagarasan has five tunnels and more viaducts than any other Romanian road, and the average speed across it is around 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour), so crossing it takes most of a day once you stop to look. Cyclists have their own version: the 22 kilometer (14 mile) climb from the north to Balea Lake has been part of the Sibiu Cycling Tour since 2011 and is rated at the difficulty of an hors categorie Tour de France ascent. When the top section is shut, the cable car from Cabana Balea Cascada carries walkers and skiers up to the lake on a line built in 1975.

On foot, the marked path from Cabana Balea Cascada to Balea Waterfall takes about 50 minutes and follows red dot markers. From the lake itself, ridge trails lead to the other Fagaras tarns, Capra to the south, Podragu and Podragel to the east, and Avrig further west, while Moldoveanu is usually climbed over Vistea Mare from Podragu, Sambata or the Vistea Valley. Between January and March an igloo hotel with room for 16 is rebuilt near the shore from ice taken out of the lake, the first of its kind in Eastern Europe when it opened in 2006, though it has skipped seasons when the ice failed to set. On the southern descent, near the village of Arefu, Poenari Castle stands above the road at the top of a long stone stairway.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

When the Balea Lake Webcam is fogged in, three more views from the Carpathians and the high alpine.

• Poiana Brasov Webcam
• Bran Castle Webcam
• St. Moritz Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Balea Lake located?

Balea Lake is in the Fagaras Mountains of central Romania, in Cartisoara commune, Sibiu County. It sits about 77 kilometers (48 miles) from Sibiu and 68 kilometers (42 miles) from the town of Fagaras, reached by the Transfagarasan road.

What can you see on the Balea Lake Webcam?

The camera looks over the lake and the chalets on its shore, with the rock walls of the glacial cirque behind. Cloud, snow and mountain light change the picture through the day, and through summer the parking area at the end of the road fills with traffic.

How high is Balea Lake?

The lake lies at 2,034 meters (6,673 feet). The Transfagarasan reaches its high point of 2,042 meters (6,699 feet) just beyond it, at the Balea Tunnel.

How big and how deep is Balea Lake?

It is roughly 360 meters (1,180 feet) long, covers 46,508 square meters (about 4.6 hectares or 11.5 acres) and reaches a maximum depth of 11.35 meters (37 feet).

When is the Transfagarasan road open?

The high section is usually open from late June until late October, and closed the rest of the year because of snow. Openings and closures depend on conditions, and the road can shut at short notice even in summer.

How do you get to Balea Lake in winter?

By cable car from Cabana Balea Cascada, lower down the northern side of the mountain. The line was built in 1975 and runs when the Transfagarasan above it is closed.

What is the weather like at Balea Lake?

Cool in summer and cold in winter. August averages around 11 C (52 F) and January about -7 C (20 F), with lows near -9 C (16 F). Cloud and fog are frequent in every season, and snow can fall well outside winter.

Source: Rainhold Mai