Touristic hint: Danube Delta

          If you want a few days of relaxation, away from the city or from the bigoted, much too noisy resorts, you have a wonderful choice: Danube Delta. Apparently artless, the Delta could reveal unknown landscapes, channels, forests, birds and vegetation. All these assume a special scent when presented by a local guide who knows all deltas’ secrets. 

         Europe’s largest wetlands reserve, covering 2,681 square kilometers (1,676 square miles), with a sprawling, watery wilderness that stretches from the Ukrainian border to a series of lakes north of the Black Sea resorts, Danube Delta was included by UNESCO in 1990 amongst the biosphere reserves. It is Europe’s youngest land-more than 43.7 square meters (47 square yards) are added each year by normal silting action. As it approaches its delta, the great Danube divides into three channels. The northernmost branch forms the border with Ukraine, the middle arm leads to the busy port of Sulina, and the southernmost arm meanders gently toward the little port of Sfantu Gheorghe. From these channels, countless canals widen into tree fringed lakes, reed islands, and pools covered with water lilies; there are sand dunes and pockets of lush forest. 

         The Danube Delta offers an exotic landscape with over 1,200 species of trees and plants, with the richest ornithological fauna on the continent (more than 300 species, among which unique colonies of pelicans) and ichthyologic fauna (with around 100 species, from the Danube herrings to the sturgeons which produce the precious caviar). More than 80% of the delta area is water. Over 300 bird species visit the area, 70 of them from as from as far away as China and India. The delta is a natural stopover for migratory birds, but the most characteristic bird is the common pelican, the featured star of this bird-watchers’ paradise. Fishing provides most of the area’s inhabitants, many of whom are of Ukrainian origin, with a livelihood. The waters here are particularly rich in catfish, perch, carp, and caviar- bearing sturgeon.

         The unique ecosystems of the Danube Delta, consisting of a labyrinthine network of river channels, shallow bays and hundreds of lakes, interspersed with extensive marshes, reed-beds, islands and floodplains, form a valuable natural buffer zone, filtering out pollutants from the River Danube, and helping to improve water quality in the vulnerable waters of the north-western Black Sea.

 

Tulcea

Tulcea, the main town of the Danube Delta, is the gateway to the splendors of the region.  Almost as old as Rome, built on seven hills and influenced by Turkish styles, this former market town is now an important sea and river port, as well as the center of the Romanian fish industry. The Danube Delta Museum provides a good introduction to the flora, fauna, and way of life of the communities in the area.

Cuisine

If you are a great fan of fish, the Delta could answer your appetite. The Delta restaurants prepare food by classical, local and international recipes. But you should try here also specific menus: spitted carp, fish grill in spiced brine, fried fish (that goes with cornmeal mush and garlic sauce), plachie - fish meal cooked with onion and oil, boiled crawfish, frog legs. Local people also use the fish meat minced (to cook meat balls, stuffed green peppers, sarmale - meatballs of cabbage).  The Russian borsch cooked in open-air fire is also one of the Delta’s delicacies. The one with more sophisticated tastes may try the Danube herring, the sturgeon croquettes or fried sturgeon, which can be accompanied by the tasty local wines such as Aligote, Muscat or Merlot

Must see

The Letea islet, the birds colony reserve of Perisor-Zatoane, Uzlina-Crisana, Golovita and the Sacalin Islands are unique zones which attract every year tourists from the most remote corners of the world. The tree arms of the Danube - Chilia, Sulina and Sf. Gheorghe - benefit from numerous tourist bases which can be reached by sailing on board a ship to its various areas.

Tourist Itineraries

1	Tulcea - channel Mila 35 - brooks Sireasa, Sontea - Channel Olguta - Dunarea Veche - village Mila 23 - Crisan - maliuc - Tulcea
2	Tulcea - Victoria - channels Litcov, Crisan - Caraorman - Crisan - Maliuc - Tulcea
3	Tulcea - Maliuc - Crisan - Channel Crisan - Caraorman - Channel Caraorman - lakes Puiu, Rosu, Rosulet - Channel Rosu - Imputita - channel Bursuca - Sulina - Tulcea
4	Murighiol - channels Dunavat, Dranov - gulf Holbina - lake Razim - Gura Portitei
5	Jurilovca - Gura Portitei
6	Crisan - Dunarea Veche - channel Eracle - brook Lopatna - channel Lopatna - Trei Iezere
7	Crisan - Dunarea Veche - channel Magearu - Dunarea Veche - arm Sulina - Crisan

Must do

 

 - Bird watching (mostly on spring and autumn). In the Danube Delta the ideal periods for bird watching are the spring migration and the autumn one. In the spring, the birds are coming from the warm countries and start mating and depositing their eggs. In the autumn, the birds are gathering in big flights and begin flying towards South. 

 - Fishing. It is prohibited in the Danube Delta during the spring until June 15. In this period only locals are allowed to fish for their personal consumption.

- Hunting. The most favorable season for Danube hunting is autumn. Among the animals which you can hunt here are the wild boar and the hare. The list of birds for hunting is longer: the pheasant, the coot, the pigeon, the partridge, the quail, many types of ducks, etc. Yet, hunting in the Danube Delta is controversial, as ecologists warned about the environment destruction. The hunting process has been seldom forbidden. 

 

Did you know that?

Most of the delta lies within Romania, but some of its northern fringes, and most recently formed areas are in Ukraine.

A total area of 679,000 ha of the delta is under legal protection including floodplains and marine areas. The core of the reserve (312,400 ha) was designated as a “World Natural Heritage Site” in 1991. 

Eighteen protected reservations and buffer zones are spread all over the delta.

Several globally threatened bird species can be found in Danube Delta, including the red-breasted goose, the Dalmatian pelican and the pygmy cormorant, either breed or winter in the delta. 

May is one the most remarkable month in the Danube Delta, as most migratory birds are coming then and the show is really exquisite.

 

                     (posted by Lavinia Butu)