OFF37 Uz Valley

This road is perfect if you have just started riding off the asphalt. It is long enough to gain confidence, is very well maintained and has no difficult areas. The segment is part of the TET Romania route.

This road on the Uzului Valley is a mountain pass that connects Transylvania and Moldova passing between the Nemira Mountains and the Ciuc Mountains. There are almost 45 km without asphalt between Sânmartin and Dărmănești.

We went from west to west. As soon as you leave Sânmartin, the asphalt ends. The first few kilometers the road meanders gently and climbs gently along the edge of a valley. Then we reach a section with serpentines and in a few kilometers we climb to just over 1000m altitude. From here the road begins to descend. From now on we are in the valley of the river Uz. The road surface is very well maintained. It looks like it’s ready to be paved, so smooth is the macadam. There are parts where you can go easily with 80Km / h.

The scenery is beautiful. We advance through a wide valley, with vast meadows that alternate with small portions of forest.

Near the border between Harghita county and Bacău county, we will have a section where the valley narrows and for a few kilometers the road will look like a gorge.

Then, as soon as we cross Bacău County, the valley widens again. After a few kilometers we will reach the cemetery of the heroes from Valea Uzului. Hundreds of soldiers killed in the intense fighting that took place in 1917 were buried here.

From now on it’s not long and we will reach Valea Uzului Lake. Just before the tail of the lake, there is a road that goes to the right. The TET Romania route continues on this road.

The asphalt starts a few kilometers before the dam. It is worth taking a short detour and going to the base of the dam because the image is impressive. The dam is 500m long and 84m high. Behind the huge concrete wall with buttresses there are 98 million cubic meters of water.