Tihuța Pass



Tihuța Pass (Pasul Tihuța, also called Pasul Bârgău; Borgói-hágó or Burgó) is a high mountain pass in the Romanian Bârgău Mountains (Eastern Carpathian Mountains) connecting Bistrița (Transylvania) with Vatra Dornei (Bukovina, Moldavia). It is crossed by national road DN17 (part of European route E58), which starts in Dej and ends in Suceava.

The pass was made famous by Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, where, termed as "the Borgo Pass", it was the gateway to the realm of Count Dracula. Stoker most likely found the name on a contemporary map; he never actually visited the area.

Today the pass is home to Hotel "Castel Dracula"; located at an elevation of 1116 m, the hotel was built in 1976 and adopted its current name after 1989. The hotel has become quite an attraction due to its architectural style of a medieval villa, as well as the connection to the novel. In 2018 the property was put up for sale. The Tihuța Pass is now part of the Via Transilvanica long-distance trail.