# Bâlea Lake

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Sibiu County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/sibiu)

> A glacial lake at 2,034 m in the Bâlea cirque of the Făgăraș Mountains, at the top of the Transfăgărășan; reachable by car in summer and by cable car all year round.

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**At a glance:** Lakes in Sibiu County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. The visit takes 1½ – 2 hours. Information verified on 22 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The lake is in the open air and can be reached at any time. By car you can only drive up while the high section of the Transfăgărășan is open (usually June–July to October), between 07:00 and 21:00. The cable car from Bâlea Cascadă runs all year, daily 09:00–18:00 in summer and 09:00–17:00 in winter, last departure 16:30, and stops in bad weather — check before setting off.
- **Ticket:** Free — cable car paid separately
- **Visit duration:** 1½ – 2 hours — the lake and a short hike
- **With kids:** Yes — warm clothes even in summer
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — paid, next to the lake
- **Best season:** All year round — winter: cable car only
- **Address:** Transfăgărășan (DN7C), at the northern end of the Capra–Bâlea tunnel, Sibiu County
- **Coordinates:** 45.604, 24.6176
- **Phone:** +40 725 210 610
- **Website:** https://www.balealac.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A2lea_Lake
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q794973
- **Categories:** [Lakes](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacuri), [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcuri-nationale-si-rezervatii)

## About Bâlea Lake

Bâlea Lake fills the floor of a glacial cirque in the Făgăraș Mountains, at 2,034 m, right below the main ridge. It is about 360 m long, covers 4.6 hectares and is more than 11 m deep. Together with around 180 hectares of the surrounding land, it was declared a scientific reserve as early as 1932, to protect its alpine flora and high-mountain wildlife.

People have been coming here for more than a century: the Transylvanian Carpathian Society built the first stone chalet in 1904–1905, on the small peninsula that juts into the lake. Access changed completely in the 1970s with the Transfăgărășan, which runs along the lakeshore, and with the cable car from Bâlea Cascadă, opened in 1975. This is also where Romania's deadliest avalanche struck, on 17 April 1977: 23 people, most of them pupils from a Sibiu secondary school, died under the snow that swept down from the Capra saddle.

In winter, when the road is closed, the lake can only be reached by cable car. Since 2006, in many winters an ice hotel has been built next to the lake from blocks cut out of its frozen surface, together with a church made of ice.

### What you can see

The lake is ringed by rock walls and scree, with patches of snow that last well into summer. On the shore stand the Bâlea Lac chalet, on the peninsula, and the Paltinu chalet, further up. The path along the shore makes for an easy stroll, and from the rim of the cirque, next to the road, you look down on the Transfăgărășan's hairpin bends in the Bâlea valley.

Trails lead up to the ridge from the lake: the shortest climbs in about an hour to the Capra saddle, with a view of Capra Lake, and from there you can carry on to Vânătoarea lui Buteanu peak (2,507 m). Chamois are often seen on the slopes.

### Good to know

Above 2,000 m the weather can turn in minutes: fog, strong winds and low temperatures even in August. The road is usually open from June–July to October; the rest of the year the cable car is the only way up, and it stops running in high winds.

## Don't miss

- The rocky peninsula with the Bâlea Lac chalet, from where you see the whole lake with the cirque walls behind it.
- The Transfăgărășan's hairpin bends in the Bâlea valley, seen from above at the rim of the cirque.
- The climb of about an hour to the Capra saddle, with the view down to Capra Lake.
- The cable car ride from Bâlea Cascadă, 3.7 km over the forest and the glacial valley.
- In winter, the ice hotel and ice church built next to the lake, in the seasons when they go up.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** the lake lies right on the Transfăgărășan (DN7C). From the north, leave the DN1 (Sibiu–Brașov) for the DN7C at Cârțișoara, ~45 km from Sibiu and ~100 km from Brașov; from there it is ~35 km to the lake, the last stretch up the hairpin bends of the Bâlea valley. From the south, take the DN7C from Curtea de Argeș through Arefu and along Lake Vidraru (~85 km), then through the Capra–Bâlea tunnel. The mountain section is only open in summer and early autumn.

**Public transport:** there are no scheduled services. In summer a private tourist shuttle (Bâlea Bus) runs from Sibiu to Bâlea Cascadă, where you take the cable car up to the lake (~15 minutes).

### Where to park

There are paid car parks next to the lake (in 2025, ~10 lei per hour for cars, with a ticket at the barrier) that fill up quickly on summer weekends; arrive early in the morning. When the road to the lake is closed, you can leave the car at Bâlea Cascadă, at the foot of the cable car.

### Fees & discounts

Access to the lake is free. The Bâlea Cascadă – Bâlea Lake cable car costs ~80 lei each way for adults and ~40 lei for children aged 2–12, with a separate fare for large luggage and bikes; prices have changed often in recent years, so check them at the cable car station. The public toilets by the lake are paid.

### Rules

The lake and its surroundings are a nature reserve: do not pick plants, do not leave litter and do not camp outside permitted areas. Do not feed bears (it carries a fine) and keep your distance from chamois. On the trails you need hiking boots and rain and wind gear; in winter, after snowfall, the slopes around the lake carry an avalanche risk — ask the Salvamont mountain rescue post before setting off. The cable car does not run with fewer than 10 passengers.

### Facilities

Bâlea Lac and Paltinu chalets, with rooms and restaurants · paid public toilets · Salvamont mountain rescue post · weather station · cable car to Bâlea Cascadă · souvenir and local produce stalls in summer · no step-free access along the lakeshore

## Details

- **Protected area type:** scientific reserve
- **Part of:** Făgăraș Mountains Natura 2000 site
- **Lake type:** glacial
- **Area:** 4.65 ha
- **Maximum depth:** 11.35 m
- **Altitude:** 2,034 m

## Frequently asked questions about Bâlea Lake

**How much is a ticket to Bâlea Lake?**

Admission to Bâlea Lake is free (cable car paid separately). Access to the lake is free. The Bâlea Cascadă – Bâlea Lake cable car costs ~80 lei each way for adults and ~40 lei for children aged 2–12, with a separate fare for large luggage and bikes; prices have changed often in recent years, so check them at the cable car station. The public toilets by the lake are paid.

**What are the opening hours of Bâlea Lake?**

Opening hours at Bâlea Lake: daily open 24 hours. The lake is in the open air and can be reached at any time. By car you can only drive up while the high section of the Transfăgărășan is open (usually June–July to October), between 07:00 and 21:00. The cable car from Bâlea Cascadă runs all year, daily 09:00–18:00 in summer and 09:00–17:00 in winter, last departure 16:30, and stops in bad weather — check before setting off.

**How long does a visit to Bâlea Lake take?**

A visit to Bâlea Lake takes about 1½ – 2 hours (the lake and a short hike).

**Can you visit Bâlea Lake with kids?**

Yes, Bâlea Lake is suitable for children (warm clothes even in summer).

**Where can I park at Bâlea Lake?**

There is paid parking at Bâlea Lake (paid, next to the lake). There are paid car parks next to the lake (in 2025, ~10 lei per hour for cars, with a ticket at the barrier) that fill up quickly on summer weekends; arrive early in the morning. When the road to the lake is closed, you can leave the car at Bâlea Cascadă, at the foot of the cable car.

**How do I get to Bâlea Lake?**

Bâlea Lake is located at Transfăgărășan (DN7C), at the northern end of the Capra–Bâlea tunnel, Sibiu County. By car: the lake lies right on the Transfăgărășan (DN7C). From the north, leave the DN1 (Sibiu–Brașov) for the DN7C at Cârțișoara, ~45 km from Sibiu and ~100 km from Brașov; from there it is ~35 km to the lake, the last stretch up the hairpin bends of the Bâlea valley. From the south, take the DN7C from Curtea de Argeș through Arefu and along Lake Vidraru (~85 km), then through the Capra–Bâlea tunnel. The mountain section is only open in summer and early autumn. Public transport: there are no scheduled services. In summer a private tourist shuttle (Bâlea Bus) runs from Sibiu to Bâlea Cascadă, where you take the cable car up to the lake (~15 minutes).

**When is the best time to visit Bâlea Lake?**

The best season for Bâlea Lake: All year round (winter: cable car only).

## Nearby attractions

- [Transfăgărășan](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/transfagarasan) — Scenic roads · Argeș County · Free · 3½ – 4 hours · Top 20 · 0 km
  The DN7C crosses the Făgăraș Mountains for 151 km, from the Vidraru dam up to the glacial Bâlea Lake at 2,042 m, then winds down in hairpin bends into Transylvania.
- [Capra Lake](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-capra) — Lakes · Argeș County · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 1 km
  A glacial lake at 2,230 m on the southern side of the Făgăraș Mountains, just below the ridge; about an hour's walk from Bâlea Lake, over the Capra saddle.
- [Capra Waterfall](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cascada-capra) — Waterfalls · Argeș County · Free · 20 min · 3 km
  A waterfall of about 40 m on the Capra stream, right beside the Transfăgărășan on the southern side of the Făgăraș Mountains, at 1,690 m; you see it from the bridge, without any hiking.
- [Bâlea Waterfall](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cascada-balea) — Waterfalls · Sibiu County · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 · 3 km
  Romania's biggest tiered waterfall, dropping about 60 m over the lower step of the Bâlea cirque in the Făgăraș Mountains; an hour's walk up from the Bâlea Cascadă chalet on the Transfăgărășan.
- [Zbuciumată Waterfall](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cascada-zbuciumata) — Waterfalls · Nucșoara, AG · Free · 30 min · 15 km
  A waterfall of almost 100 m in three tiers on the side of the Valea Rea valley in the Făgăraș Mountains, below Moldoveanu Peak; it can be seen from Stâna lui Burnei, at the end of the forest road from Slatina.
- [Brâncoveanu Monastery of Sâmbăta de Sus](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastirea-brancoveanu-sambata-de-sus) — Monasteries and churches · Sâmbăta de Sus, BV · 1 – 1½ hours · 22 km
  Orthodox monastery founded by Constantin Brâncoveanu below the Făgăraș Mountains: the church rebuilt in 1926–1946 on its old foundations, an icon museum and a new Brâncovenesc-style precinct.

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Last updated: 22 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania