If you feel like the dry land has no more surprises for you, you can always take a boat and start your journey on water! Water is the remedy of many unbalances. And the Danube Delta offers a surprisingly appropriate frame for relaxation and getting your balance back.

What, how and where is the Danube Delta?

As the spill mouth of the Danube in the Black Sea, the Danube Delta is locate in South East Romania and it’s bordered to the north by Ukraine, to the east by the Black Sea and to the west by the Dobrogea Plateau.

The Danube Delta was first confirmed by Herodot, who depicts the story about the Persian fleet of Darius entering the Delta, after visiting Histria (515-513 B.C.).

Danube, the European river that flows along 10 countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine) and 4 capital cities (Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade), spills into the Black Sea, through a delta with a total area of 5,050 km² of which only 732 km² belong to Ukraine. In addition, the Danube Delta natural reserve includes the Razim-Sinoe lagoon chain that stretches on 1,145 km², of which 863 km² for the lakes themselves.

Three channels of the Danube form the Delta: Chilia, 104 km long, marks the border with Ukraine, then Sulina, the middle channel, is 71 km long, and last Sfântul Gheorghe, the southern one, which is 112 km long and reveals at the mouth the Sacalin islands, considered the inception of a secondary delta.

The Razim – Sinoe lagoon chain is made of lakes Razim, Golovita, Zmeica and Babadag – with two other subsequent lakes Tauc and Topraichioi, Sinoe, Nuntasi and Tuzla. In the perimeter of this chain there are several islands of which the most important are Popina, Bisericuta and Gradistea.

The Danube Delta is part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1991, as the only delta in the world declared entirely a biosphere reserve.

The Danube Delta is unique because:

It is the only delta in the world to be fully declared a biosphere reserve

It is the largest swamp territory (wetlands) reserve in Europe

Shelters the largest compact area of thicket in the world.

Its territory grows 40 m² bigger each year.

Here you can discovered all lake plants in Europe

It has 2,440 insect species, 1,830 trees and plants species, 320 bird species, 91 mollusk species, 44 mammal species, 11 reptile species, 10 amphibian species. Many of these are natural monuments.

It is the most important resting site for birds migrating between the Tropics and the North Pole. 5 of the most important routes go through the Delta.

It has 2 carnivorous plant species: aldrovanda and bladderworts, which have developed traps to catch their food.

It is the lowest plain territory in Europe

It shelters the only sandy forests in Romania – Letea and Caraorman, where creepers grow 25 meters long.

Pelecanus crispus – a specie of pelican – is the biggest bird in the delta. The range of its wings reaches 3.2 meters. The smallest bird is the wren. It weighs 13 grams.

It is home to the long-life spur-thighed tortoise. It can reach a maximum age of 120 years.

The Caspian whipsnake, that has its habitat in the Danube Delta, can reach 1.8 meters in length.

Agighiol is the only reserve for marine fossils in Europe.

You can find in the Danube Delta the largest ichthyologic (over 100 species of fish, also sturgeons that provide the precious black caviar) and ornithological fauna on the continent (over 320 bird species).

Sulina, one of the settlements in the Delta, is the sunniest and lowest altitude town in Romania.

It has the lowest population density 1/30 ha (hectares).

You can find over 195 medicinal plants, making it a place with a huge potential in this respect.

Flora and fauna

In the Danube Delta, you can find approximately 5.000 species of plants and animals, a unique genetic bank for humankind.

The Delta shelters 95% of Europe’s aquatic fauna. Fish are represented by over 100 species, mostly sweet water ones, among which we can also find species of sturgeons: beluga, Danube sturgeon, sterlet.

The Delta is a true paradise for birds. Here you approximately 320 species (great northern divers, dabchicks, shearwaters, pelicans, cormorants, seagulls, ducks, geese, Eurasian spoonbills, glossy ibises, bearded reedlings, chaffinches, flycatchers, thrush nightingales).

In the marine forests of Letea and Caraorman there are 64 species nesting (Eurasian blackbirds, woodpeckers, European robins, great tits, European starlings, white-tailed eagles, black kites, Eastern imperial eagles, ospreys, common pheasants etc).

On the sandy meadows we can find the grey partridge, the common quail, and the skylark.

We need to emphasize that this is home to the largest European population of common pelicans (around 8,000) and Dalmatian pelicans (around 200); to 60% of the little pied cormorants population in the world (around 6,000); to 50% of the red-breasted geese population (during winter time there are around 40,000 specimens).

What to visit

Prislava byzantine citadel, an important urban center from the X-XIV centuries, has been totally overlaid by the town. Located on the right bank of the Sfantu Gheorghe channel, approximately 12 km downstream from Tulcea city.

Fisherman’s House – mini-museum (free entrance) that shows visitors sequences from the lives of the fishermen communities in the Danube Delta. It exhibits functional household objects, various handmade tools, scenes from the domestic life of a traditional fisherman’s family. During the summer season, the Fisherman House hosts temporary theme exhibits.

The bird observatory located near the ruins of the Salsovia stronghold.

The Halmyris Monastery is approximately 2 km away from Murghiol, following the cobbled road to Dunavatu de Jos, right after the ruins of Halmyris stronghold. The Patrons of the Monastery, Saints Epictet and Astion (the oldest Holy Remains discovered in Romania – 280 A.C.) are celebrated on the 8 of July.

Popina Island (98 ha) is located the north of Razelm lake, close to the Iazurile and Sarinasuf fish farms and Iazurile town.

Uzlina Refuge – Natural Reserve shelters one of the largest colonies of Ardeidae birds (herons, egrets, bitterns). It is an important checkpoint for migrating birds, and a nesting point for the common shelduck. In the spring, you can spot swamp birds and forest birds.

Agighiol geological reserve – has a total area of 9.7 ha and is the only reserve for marine fossils in Europe; it’s located in the northern part of Razelm Lake, north-west of Agighiol town, betwenn Redi hill and Agighiol.

Periteasca-Leahova Natural Reserve (4,125 ha) is located in the Razim-Sinoe lagoon chain, the area is a mosaic of sand banks and shallow lakes that are in a continuous process of sweetening after the link with the Black Sea was severed. It is made of the Leahova Mare, Leahova Mica, Periteasca, Pahane, Cosna lakes, Bisericuta Island and a series of sand banks. Here 3 endemic species of mollusks have been identified; also, there are numerous bird species that short stop here to feed and rest. In the seaside soils, watered by Razim Lake and the Black Sea, grow few plants with special adaptabilities: psyllium (sand plantain), seakale etc.

What else to do?

The Danube Delta is an exclusive location and generally people who enjoy its splendors and serenity are part of particular social elite.

What else can you enjoy doing in the Delta?
Take long boat trips on the narrow and lively channels, listen to the silence, take pictures of hundreds of birds, flowers and fish, fishing, hunting, enjoy the delicious traditional fish food, have fun in wild parties, right on the beach, witness how reed rooftops are being made, like they use to 2,000 years ago and don’t miss on the unique sunrises and sunsets


And let’s not forget the Danube Delta is a reserve, thus a sanctuary, a temple. A few days here, the sacred space of waters and life, will surely transform you.