Transfagarasan Highway is Among the World’s Most Instagrammable Road Trips
Searches for ‘route 66 road trip’ have risen by 160% over the past month in the US, suggesting that roads are more than just a journey – they can also be worthy destinations themselves. But which road trips are also worthy of the ‘Gram?
This question was tackled by Uswitch.com/car-insurance, who collated Instagram hashtags for road trips around the globe to reveal the most popular among social media-savvy travellers!
The world’s top three most Instagrammed road trips
U.S. Route 66 is the most Instagrammed road trip. Although only 85% of the historic highway is still drivable, the “Mother Road” continues to spark interest in car enthusiasts that dream of traversing the United States as it raked in a whopping 1,908,149 hashtags – 22 times more than Canada’s Cabot Trail in 20th place.
In second place is another iconic American road, Big Sur Coast Highway – its hashtag was shared 1,422,501 times on Instagram by drivers looking to see the stunning views of the California coast.
Great Ocean Road is the third most popular road trip on Instagram. With 1,403,245 hashtags, it stretches along the windswept South-Eastern coast of Australia and showcases natural landscapes that include volcanoes and waterfalls.
Europe is the continent with the most Instagrammed road trips!
Uswitch found out that eight out of the 20 most Instagrammed road trips are in Europe. The Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland is not only the fourth most Instagrammed road trip in the world but also the number one in Europe with 1,373,838 hashtags.
Following closely behind is North America (seven road trips out of 20). Whilst the United States is home to 5 of the most Instagrammed road trips, its neighbour Canada boasts 2 breathtaking ones – Icefields Parkway (112,675) and Cabot Trail (86,327).
Transfagarasan alpine road from Romania’s Carpathians ranks 15th most Instagrammed road trips, with 139,504 Insta hashtags.
A year ago, Transfagarasan was also included among the world’s most scenic roadtrips.
Transfagarasan or DN7C is a mountain paved road crossing the southern section of the Carpathian Mountains. It has national-road ranking and it is the second-highest paved road in Romania after Transalpina. The road starts near the village of Bascov, located near the city of Pitesti, ending on the crossroad between DN1 and Sibiu.
Also known as Ceausescu’s Folly, it was built as a strategic military route that stretches 90 km with twists and turns that run north to south across the tallest sections of the Southern Carpathians, between the highest peaks in the country, Moldoveanu, and the second highest, Negoiu. The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia and the cities of Sibiu and Pitesti.
The Transfagarasan was constructed between 1970 and 1974, during Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist rule as a response to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union.
Built mainly by military forces, the road had both a high financial and human cost. Work was carried out in an alpine climate, at an elevation of 2000 meters, using junior military personnel who were untrained in blasting techniques. Many non-commissioned officers (NCOs), foremen, and soldiers died due to hazardous working conditions. Roughly six million kilograms of dynamite were used on the northern face, and official records state that about 40 soldiers lost their lives in building accidents.
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I really hope to visit Transfagarasan this year.