Vidraru Dam, Southern Romania, Romania

4T-SGlobetrotters 5:00 PM Oct 22, 2022

Spectacular feat of engineering
The dam is worth a quick 10 minute stop on the Transfagarasan road. There are a couple of small parking areas at each end of the dam as you approach it and there are footpaths either side to peer over the dizzying drop. The road itself is on top of the dam so on one side you see the sheer drop to the valley below, on the other is the serene, flooded valley of Lake Vidraru. Built in 1966, it is an impressive feat of engineering.

4Jazzumbo 5:00 PM Jan 1, 2022

Massive dam in spectacular mountain scenery
It’s an engineering masterpiece dating back from the communist dictatorship period, just like the Transfagarasan road. The massive concrete dam is over 150 meters tall. It is worth driving slower if you pass through the area to admire the landscape. If you decide to stop, however, the atmosphere may disappoint you. A few wooden stalls selling horrible souvenirs and two or three stray dogs fighting over leftover food thrown by visitors. Rubbish left on the ground here and there is a sign that many tourists don’t actually care about environment. Pretty depressing. If you have binoculars or a camera with a decent zoom, you can admire various waterfowl (cormorants, for example), which dry their feathers on the rocky promontory in front of the dam. Visited the place at the beginning of December and it was not as busy as it may gets during the summer months.