Tihuța Pass (Borgo)

<p>Tihuța Pass — on old maps, Borgo Pass — is one of those mountain crossings where you stop without meaning to. You climb DN17, switchback by switchback between the Bârgău and Călimani ranges, and at 1,201 m you reach the saddle, above the clouds. You stop. You get out. The air is cold, sharp, smelling of pine and altitude.</p><p>This is where Bram Stoker set Dracula's castle in his 1897 novel. He'd never been to Romania — he wrote it all from geography books — but he chose well. The place has something strange, beautiful, unexplained. At 1,116 m, by the pass, there's now the Castle Dracula Hotel, a 1980s build for tourists. It's kitsch, but the terrace view is magnificent.</p><p>Tip: the road is open year-round, but drive carefully in winter — black ice, sleet, wind. It's most beautiful in September-October when the forests turn red and gold. Even at noon in summer, it's cool here.</p><p>Pair it with a visit to Praid Salt Mine (about 2 hours away), Bistrița Monastery, or a night in a Bârgău mountain cabin. Good country for travelers who flee crowds.</p>