Places to go
Danube Delta - a natural paradise
Before flowing into the Black Sea, the Danube River separates into three branches – Sulina, Chilia and Saint George giving birth to a fabulous realm of thousands of square kilometres packed into a silver network of canals and puddles. These are heated by warm sun rays, where there are thousands of animal and plant species. All this space offers an image from the beginnings of the world, where land and water gently merge, creating sand banks, sand dunes, islets full of green, canals and mysterious swamps.
The second in size and best preserved among Europe’s deltas, the Danube Delta, is internationally recognized for its status in three ways: biosphere reservation, Ramsar site (wet area of international importance) and site of UNESCO natural and cultural world Patrimony. [more information]
The Danube Delta reeds
The widest area of this wild water land is covered with reeds, an area which begins in Tulcea. In order to be able to visit these places at leisure, you need a few days for each of the branches and a boat – the main means of transport in the delta. A similarly pleasant and spectacular alternative to visiting the Delta is offered by cruise boats.
The community
The delta is inhabited by a limited community that continues to live in full harmony within the extraordinary ecosystem of the Delta. This community earns its living by fishing and harvesting the reed. The villages, where the only access ways are the canals that cross them, seem untouched by the passing of time.
In this mixture of ecosystems, visitors will discover Letea and Caraorman forests, grown on sand dunes, which contain a great variety of plant species: from old oaks to lianas. All together, they form a virtual tropical landscape, surprisingly for the 45 degrees north latitude where it lies.
A paradise of creatures
The endless symphony of fluttering wings, high trills, splashing water, and springs witnessing the majestic flight of an egret flock, the arrow-like flight of pelicans: all of these turn the delta into a paradise of birds. Naturalist experts agree that the Danube Delta features the richest bird variety in the world. On the delta territory, thare have been identified over more than 300 bird species— 175 of which nest here—rest on remote territories in Europe, Asia or Africa. Its geographical position – half the distance between the North Pole and the Equator – render the delta a natural halt for 6 bird migration ways. Pelican, ibis and egret colonies return to the delta every spring to nest. From the watching points scattered along the canals, or on a boat ride, you will be able to notice numerous bird species leading their quiet existence – spoon bills, cranes, geese and ducks, steppe eagles, swans, Danubian hawks. With a bit of luck and a lot of patience you will be able to see, and capture on camera, even rarities and samples of the species declared monuments of nature – the kingfisher, the black-necked diver, the yellow heron, the flamingo, and the cormorant.
The waters of the delta also feature over 100 fish species, among which the fishing passionate can choose. According to the depth of the canals and the water vegetation, the delta offers carp, sheat fish, pike, perch, sander, crucian carp, and even sturgeon, stor sturgeon and sterlet – the caviar bearers!
Rezervations and monuments of nature
18 protected reservations and “buffer” areas, among which the most beautiful are Roşca – Buhaiova – Hrecişca, Perişor – Zătoane, Letea Forest and Caraorman Forest. A special area is also Razim – Sinoe lagoonal complex, are situated in the southern part of the delta. In the past the sea water used to mingle with the sweet water of the two lakes, now separated by a narrow strip of sand. The best way to explore these wild places of complete silence and calm, unaltered by human activity, is to rent a rowboat in which you can explore the narrow canals. Thus, the feeling of miraculously entering a National Geographic report, will permanently accompany you. Apart from the charming natural lanscapes, in this area you will discover, at every step, the marks of an ancient civilization: the ruins of Halmyris, Histria, and Enisala cities, which still preserve the signs of a once-flourishing Greek civilization.
Access to the Danube Delta:
- by car: from Bucharest to Hârşova on E60, then on DN 22A to Tulcea;
- by plane: “Mihail Kogalniceanu” Airport 12 km far from Tulcea:
- by train: there are several locals on Bucharest – Tulcea route; for details access www.cfr.ro
If you make up your mind to come to the Delta, here are some safety precautions:
- Do not try to spend the night under the open sky, especially in May – June when the mosquitoes are in full activity.
- Do not drink water from the Danube; when necessary, in extreme cases, decant and boil the water.
- Do not venture in the unknown areas without a person familiar to the places.
- Under normal conditions, no animal species from the delta attacks the human being!
back
|
