A hot August Friday in Transylvania. Our itchy travel feet wanted to explore more of the area around Cluj Napoca so we were looking for an easy half day trip from the city. Our host came up with the idea to drive along the lakes which start in Gilau and go all the way to Belis – Fantanele.

The drive

We set out from Gilau, which is located 14 km / 8.7 miles from Cluj Napoca. The road follows the three lakes which provide drinking water to Cluj’s county capital: Gilau, Somesul Cald and Tarnita Lakes.

We followed the signs to Fantanele as we were leaving Gilau, then the ones to Tarnita , as we passed Somesul Rece. After that, there is absolutely no sing until you are way up in the Apuseni Mountains and a sign shows Belis.

The entire drive is scenic, switching from forests, to rolling hills of Transylvania. There are a lot of places to stop and take photos but none are marked so you kind of need to drive slow to see them. You will be driving on three dams, each offering places to stop near-by so that you can take snaps. On the way up to Belis – Fantanele, the lakes are to your right.

Once you make the left towards Belis, the scenery changes and you are delighted with houses dotting the hills and the picture perfect fences. Towards the end of summer, the colors are interesting with patches of green and yellow.

We did the drive on a Friday, and luckily , the road wasn’t busy at all. However, the potholes slowed us down and , of course, we had to dodge them. Sat nav (GPS) says the drive from Gilau to Marisel – where we eventually stopped to take a break – takes about an hour. Due to the terrible state of the road, and the sun in our eyes between the patches of forest, the drive took about an hour and a half. We stopped at an altitude 1250 m.

We decided to drive back to Gilau and not continue to Belis. Sat nav estimated another good 40 min to there and our patience with the potholes ran out. The scenery is worth it though.

Map of the drive we did:

Map if you start in Cluj Napoca and end in Belis-Fantanele

If you are starting in Cluj Napoca and go all the way up, sat nav estimates little over 2 hours via Marisel. Due to the road conditions and the heavy traffic on the way to Gilau, it may take close to 3 hours.

Places to stay and eat

The entire route is filled with cottages and places where you can rent out a room to stay at. You would probably want to drive to Marisel – like we did – and stop at Cabana Motilor or Cabana Marisel, two of the well known places to sleep and eat in the area. The views are amazing and a night at Cabana Motilor starts at 160 lei / 40 USD in a double.

Further up, at Belis – Fantanele, there are a lot of cottages as well and the prices are affordable. You can find double rooms starting at 100 lei / 25 USD a night.

Things to keep in mind

• if you need to rent a car , consider a full wheel drive
• make sure you have sat nav as the curves are not properly marked on the road
• consider doing the drive and then spending a night either at Marisel or even higher, at Belis- Fantanele