Well, we are here since 2 years and i didnt thought (blame on me)to invite you to know the country i live in, Romania...It's not an excuse, but  some of you, dear friends are in my other group, about Romania,and perhaps succeed to know a bit about my country

i decided to make this topic, to present you  a bit about the wonderful nature of this magic land, its wildlife, national parks and so many others...so,in ROMANIA!

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The Iron Gates

Hydro-power station and sailing area bearing the same name, opened in 1972 on the Danube. Future National Park to include reservations of Mediterranean flora (the Iron Gates, Gura Vaii-Varciorova, Cazanele Dunarii, Triculi, Valea Mare), fossil areas (Bahna-Varciorova, Svinita), caves and caverns partly inhabited by the prehistoric man. Access: towns of Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Orsova.

Move on to Danube Delta

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Veronica..Romania looks absoultly breathtaking and stunning xx

Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures with us xx

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Indeed, ROMANIA is amazing, I would never leave it, because its beautyful,and

 even if i am not a Romanian, i have to say, i love Romania, even if life is so many times difficult here, in this time of transition and our 'democracy" is like it is....

let's hope the new generation will build in this wonderful and rich nature a real wonderland, a little paradise....lets hope....and help them...

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http://images.google.ro/images?source=ig&hl=ro&rlz=1G1GGLQ_RORO249&q=ROMANIAN+WILDLIFE&lr=&um=

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Romania may lack some of the developments - social, agricultural, industrial etc - that have swept across northern and western Europe but the slow pace of change has been a positive benefit for wildlife. Species that have declined or even become extinct elsewhere still prosper in Romania. From the humble tree sparrow - on the verge of extinction in Britain for example - to the white pelican - Romania boasts the largest breeding population outside of Africa - to the largest population of Brown Bear in Europe - there are countless examples. Along with this of course is the preservation - albeit unintentional in many cases - of large tracts of pristine or virtually unspoiled habitats.

We present you some of the highlights the Romanian Wildlife has to offer. Please select the section you are intrested in and read on.

You can download some wildlife check lists for your trip to Romania from each page or by going directly to the CHECKLIST section you can find in the main meniu. The bird lists are available in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish Italian and Romanian. The rest of the list are available just in English and Latin.

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If you are into mammal watching then Romania is the wright place for you. At the moment Romania holds by far the largest number of large carnivores in Europe - the Brown Bear, the Wolf and the Linx.

So if you plan a mammal watching holiday in Romania take a look at the species below. You can also find some statistics about the status of the large carnivores in Romania.

You can download some mammal check lists for your mammal watching trip by clicking on the links found at the left or in the main menu. The mammal lists are available in English and Latin. The lists are printable so when you come to Romania you can start ticking

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A nine day birdwatching tour exploring the vast steppes of Dobrogea, the Black Sea shore and the Danube Delta in search of rare birds. This part of Romania ranks among top 5 birdiwatching destinations in Europe. Book now a birdwatching tour with Ibis Tours and discover the wonders of Eastern Romania

flowers and butterflies.  

Discover Eastern Romania and Bulgaria - Bidwatching - wildlife tour

15 Days

Since Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, traveling between the two countries is not a problem anymore. During this 15 day tour we aim to discover as much as possible from the rich fauna and flora the two countries have to offer.  Long weekend birdwatching the Danube Delta

5 Days

A 5 day birdwatching tour exploring the Danube Delta with the floating hotel. An appealing offer if combined with low cost flights coming into Bucharest airport.  mammal watchingtour in the search of the European Brown Bears, Wolfs and Linxs. The bears can be observed from hides organized by the forestry ministry.  

Birdwatching Romania

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It is not easy to find a birding place like Romania in Europe. The official bird list of Romania holds an impressive number of bird species. Until now 395 species of birds have ben sighted on Romanian territory. During our tours we are aiming to see the rare birds that define our country and more. The maximum number of birds seen during one of our tours was 210. This is possible only in April when bird migration holds a lot of surprises for the visitor.

Below you can read about the most representative birds you can see during our tours and get a rough idea about the richness of Romanian bird life. The population of birds estimate is usually representing the breeding exemplars, the real number of birds might be higher.

You can download some bird check lists for your birding trip by clicking on the links found at the left or in the main menu. The bird lists are available in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish Italian and Romanian. You can also customize the bird lists by choosing the period, language and days. The bird lists are printable so when you come to Romania you can start ticking...

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“None of these options is optimal in my mind, if they don’t work together,” says Ionescu. “We need to be able to cull packs that routinely prey on domestic animals in order to safeguard the rest, we need to get away from the idea that expanding parks can help protect wolves, and we need some guidelines about what people can do on their private property.”

Currently, the government is debating whether or not to let landowners kill any wolf that tarries too long, whether the animal is causing problems or not. “This could be very bad for certain populations of wolves living in close proximity to settlements,” Ionescu says.

As elsewhere in the world, habitat loss is now the main enemy of Romanian wildlife. Despite new conservation legislation, the Carpathians are being slowly whittled away by a surge in mass tourism, logging and the construction of roads and summer homes. Growth in the human numbers during the past decade also crowds the animals. Some 5 million people live and work in the Carpathians, with more coming every year. Increasingly, Romania’s wolves are coming into more contact with human populations. “This is why we have some conservationists who want more protected areas,” Ionescu says. But making large swaths of the Carpathians off-limits to development is not likely to happen, given settlement patterns and the rash of development in recent years. The trick now is to manage wolves outside protected areas, and that takes the cooperation of local communities.

Fortunately for those who want to protect wolves, Romanians are changing their perceptions of large predators. Wolves in particular are seen increasingly as assets, especially for the nation’s booming ecotourism industry, which is expanding rapidly. Wildlife is beginning to pay its way and has the potential to be a major economic factor in local development.

Christoph Promberger is optimistic about the wolf’s future. Now running an ecotourism operation in Romania, he recalls that when he first moved there in the early 1990s, prejudice against wolves was commonplace. “Many people felt they were living in the Middle Ages, because we had so many wolves running around,” he says. “They thought we had to solve this problem in order to join the West. Now this has changed dramatically. People now see wolves and bears as a valuable natural heritage that the West European countries have lost.”

United Nations environmental consultant Don Hinrichsen traveled to Romania for this story.

Is Kazakhstan Home to the World’s Largest Wolf Population?

Kazakhstan—a sparsely populated, semidesert country of slightly more than 1 million square miles—robably has more wolves than any nation in the world, as many as 90,000, versus some 60,000 for Canada, which is three and a half times larger.

In Soviet days, some 1,000 professional hunters killed thousands of the wolves yearly to collect government bounties. In 1988, just before the Soviet economy collapsed, the hunters killed 16,000 wolves. But since then, wolf hunting has not been profitable in Kazakhstan; only about 2,000 wolves are killed yearly for a $40 bounty, and the animal’s numbers have risen sharply. At the same time, poachers have reduced the Kazakhstan wolf’s main prey species, the saiga antelope, from 1.5 million to perhaps 150,000, selling horns to the Chinese, who use it in traditional medicine.

The great number of saiga accounted for the large number of wolves in Kazakhstan. Now, after the antelope’s decline, says Gaziz Dusenbayev, a 27-year-old farmer, “Every winter, the wolves come down from the hills and attack our cattle. This year, I have given three sheep to the wolves. That’s worth $200, and for me that’s a lot of money.” In the spring, they go back to the remote, lightly wooded Amangeldy Hills to reproduce and feed on small mammals.

But the Kazakhs, who admire wolves for their cunning and courage, bear them no grudge. A tour of an area where many wolf attacks have been reported found everyone horrified at the suggestion that perhaps the wolf should be eradicated as it was in the United States and Western Europe. “There are just too many, that’s all,” said Galina Yakovna, who had watched helplessly as a pair of wolves recently snatched her favorite dog from her yard. “But they are part of nature.”—Christopher Pala

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I will say you sleep well, European friends

or GOOD MORNING, have a special day for the AMERICAN or other friends from other part of the world....

to be continued.....

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You have such a beautiful country and what wonderful wildlife you are so very lucky Veronica. Once again thank you for sharing this with us xx

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I am so sad that the other friends doesnt open this thread, to know more about romania...that is, i am glad, that you enjoy, my kind friend!

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Romania National Parksan open gate for mind and soul, pure serenity moments

Let's go on a virtual trip through National Parks of Romania. In fact, it's a tour through 11 National Parks and 7 Natural Parks. As well as through many other marvellous natural places from Romania.

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Now! Back to National Parks.
Interested in a particular one? Detailed information can be useful.
Undecided in choosing one? Explore all of them through pictures, travel stories and useful information.

Click to enlarge Romanian
Natural and National Parks Map

Take a look over the map. I planed a circuit for you. We start our journey from west, with the Natural Park Apuseni Mountains, go down to south, then to east side through Southern Carpathians, then back to north through Eastern Carpathians ending up with National Park Rodnei Mountains.

But this isn't all. I'll also show you the fascinated world of gorges, megalithic rocks, caves, salt mountains, Muddy Volcanoes and many other places witch are natural reservations, too, but not included in the parks I already mentioned.

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National Park RETEZAT MOUNTAINS

It's been long time since I first stepped on Retezat trails. Breathtaking landscapes. But most powerful memory is the smell. It always smells like winter ending. Even in summer.

You know... those times when snow thaws but there is yet snow. And courageous little flowers show their had and screw to running snow. Maybe because of the glacial lakes...

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This is about virgin woods and caves with popular legends. But also about history.

Gradistea Muncelului fortress, surrounded by other defence dacian fortresses, was the capital of Dacian state lead by Decebal. Here is a complex of sanctuaries devoted to sun cult and astronomic observations making up an ingenious calendar, very sharp for that times.

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Cozia Mountain suddenly rises from the surrounding depression. Olt River washes it's feet. It appears as a rock giant made of steep slopes and a large number of towers.

Almost entirely covered with a vegetal coat, it's an easy hike. A picturesque collection of plants accompanies our trail. For those who arrive at the top the prize is an astonishing landscape.

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A unique appearance. From Rucar-Bran Passage Piatra Craiului (King's Stone) Mountain looks like a 22 km long arched back dinosaur. The whole west side is a steep slope and the ridge is spectacular.

Here I met chamois for the first time. I was so amazed by it's agility then I almost felt down. And I sow capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), too. And lots of flowers.

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Here we walk on the most beaten mountain trails from Romania. And such a high traffic must have a reason. You probably heard about garbage's bears from Brasov as well as Prahova Valley ski resort.

Maybe you know a little about Sphinx and Babele (The Old Women) megalithic rocks that gave birth to legends and become symbols of this place. But there is a lot more...

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Just a little Danube Delta, less known.

It's about an isle between two branches of Danube river. Every year the river floods this isle, so the ecosystem resembles very much to that of the Danube Delta.

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National Park MACINULUI MOUNTAINS

Some of the oldest mountains of Europe. Winds, rains and sun worked them and nowadays they are less then 500 m high.

If you look at them from some distance they seem to be the ruins of an old castle.

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Yes, my friend, karsts area again. Vertical steeps rise beside the road. Often they are so bent over the car that is hard not to think "Brrrrr! What if...?" Those are Bicazului Gorges.

But there are Sugaului Gorges and Bicajelului Gorges, too. And Hasmasul Mic reservation with its beautiful Lonely Stone. And Red Lake with its true story and its legend...

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I can't say better then Romanian novelist Nicolae Gane:

"Ceahlau is the Mounntain King, it is the jewel, the poetry of this country, it is the secret source of our people's legends and melancholy folk songs, it is the eye forever opened over the boundaries of our ancestors' estate."

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Surrounded by famous monasteries and history sites, this park gives us tranquillity offered by centuries- old forests.

An evergreen oak forest reservation named Copper Woods. An oak forest reservation named Dumbrava and a birch forest reservation named Silver Forest.

All this names were inspired from Romanian fairytales because this places are truly fairytale lands.

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Wait and think a little bit. Imagine this place 5 millon years ago. Volcano erupted. Then silence. A lot of silence. Nowadays?...

I don't know. It's strange... I'm waiting for Star Gate opening behind every rock. Maybe in the middle of those "12 Apostles"...

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Glacial basins and valleys... alpine meadows painted with bushes of strawberry, blackberry, bilberry or red bilberry as well as beautiful lion's food.

A baltic climate, tough weather just like the people around.

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The more I see the more I fall in love with your country Veronica xx Thank you again for sharing all these beautiful pictures with us xx

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Dear PHIL and ANGIE for your kind words and interest reguarding Romania Indeed,there is a wonderful nature and interesting wildlife,so various birds,magical landscapes,i am also in love with Romania,therefore i didnt left it,during the harsh era of ceausescu dictature.:@ I will try to show as much possible,maybe,one day you will see it,not only in a virtual wayLove ya

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Dear PHIL and ANGIE for your kind words and interest reguarding Romania Indeed,there is a wonderful nature and interesting wildlife,so various birds,magical landscapes,i am also in love with Romania,therefore i didnt left it,during the harsh era of ceausescu dictature.:@ I will try to show as much possible,maybe,one day you will see it,not only in a virtual wayLove ya

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Wilderness in the Heart of Europe

© Andreas Beckmann, 2006

Chamois in Retezat National Park

Related links

• Wild Europe Field Programme
• WWF's work in the Carpathian region
• Wild Europe Initiative and Prague wilderness conference

WWF, the global conservation organisation, will announce on Thursday, May 27 the launch of an ambitious new field programme for creating large-scale natural areas in Europe. The initiative, which is being launched by WWF-Netherlands in cooperation with Free Nature, Ark and Eurosite, seeks to restore over the next decade at least 100,000 ha in 10 areas across the continent, taking as opportunity the gradual abandonment of many of the continent’s rural areas.

“The ongoing depopulation of entire regions creates a huge opportunity for large-scale natural areas,” said WWF-Netherlands CEO Johan van de Gronden at the initiative’s launch at an EU conference on wilderness in Prague. “It offers unique opportunities for the present generation to start developing complete ecosystems on the foundation of new rural economies, where nature itself is the driving force.”

The Wild Europe Field Programme invites park managers, authorities, local NGOs and communities, private land owners and other stakeholders to nominate areas that might qualify to become part of the field programme.

One focus for the initiative could be the southern Carpathians, which represent one of Europe’s very few remaining relative wilderness areas. The area, stretching from Djerdap National Park in Serbia, across the Danube and up through the Retezat Park and the Fagaras Mountains in Romania, totals over 1 million ha and includes the last ‘intact forest landscape’ in continental Europe. It is home to abundant wildlife, including brown bears, lynx and wolves as well as chamoix.

Most of the area is already under some form of protection. Thirteen national or nature parks together cover some 625,000 ha; this together with another five areas to be designated as specially protected sites under the EU’s Natura 2000 network brings the total protection to over 1 million ha.

Given the existing extent of protection, establishing the area as Europe’s largest-scale wild landscape requires relatively little change for people living in and around the area. The main challenge lies in coordinating management of the existing protected areas as well as promoting the region worldwide.

“The southern Carpathian wilderness has the potential of becoming a world class destination for tourism,” said Erika Stanciu, head of WWF’s Carpathian programme. “Few other places in Europe offer the same prospects to experience brown bears or wolves, near pristine forests and brilliant flowering meadows.”


Contacts:

• For information on the Wild Europe Field Programme and interviews with WWF-Netherlands CEO Johan van de Gronden, please contact Lot Folgering, press officer of WWF-Netherlands: +31 30 6937307
• For information regarding WWF’s work in the Carpathians, please contact: Andreas Beckmann, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme: +43 676 84 27 28 216

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Wilderness in the Heart of Europe

© Andreas Beckmann, 2006

Chamois in Retezat National Park

Related links

• Wild Europe Field Programme
• WWF's work in the Carpathian region
• Wild Europe Initiative and Prague wilderness conference

WWF, the global conservation organisation, will announce on Thursday, May 27 the launch of an ambitious new field programme for creating large-scale natural areas in Europe. The initiative, which is being launched by WWF-Netherlands in cooperation with Free Nature, Ark and Eurosite, seeks to restore over the next decade at least 100,000 ha in 10 areas across the continent, taking as opportunity the gradual abandonment of many of the continent’s rural areas.

“The ongoing depopulation of entire regions creates a huge opportunity for large-scale natural areas,” said WWF-Netherlands CEO Johan van de Gronden at the initiative’s launch at an EU conference on wilderness in Prague. “It offers unique opportunities for the present generation to start developing complete ecosystems on the foundation of new rural economies, where nature itself is the driving force.”

The Wild Europe Field Programme invites park managers, authorities, local NGOs and communities, private land owners and other stakeholders to nominate areas that might qualify to become part of the field programme.

One focus for the initiative could be the southern Carpathians, which represent one of Europe’s very few remaining relative wilderness areas. The area, stretching from Djerdap National Park in Serbia, across the Danube and up through the Retezat Park and the Fagaras Mountains in Romania, totals over 1 million ha and includes the last ‘intact forest landscape’ in continental Europe. It is home to abundant wildlife, including brown bears, lynx and wolves as well as chamoix.

Most of the area is already under some form of protection. Thirteen national or nature parks together cover some 625,000 ha; this together with another five areas to be designated as specially protected sites under the EU’s Natura 2000 network brings the total protection to over 1 million ha.

Given the existing extent of protection, establishing the area as Europe’s largest-scale wild landscape requires relatively little change for people living in and around the area. The main challenge lies in coordinating management of the existing protected areas as well as promoting the region worldwide.

“The southern Carpathian wilderness has the potential of becoming a world class destination for tourism,” said Erika Stanciu, head of WWF’s Carpathian programme. “Few other places in Europe offer the same prospects to experience brown bears or wolves, near pristine forests and brilliant flowering meadows.”


Contacts:

• For information on the Wild Europe Field Programme and interviews with WWF-Netherlands CEO Johan van de Gronden, please contact Lot Folgering, press officer of WWF-Netherlands: +31 30 6937307
• For information regarding WWF’s work in the Carpathians, please contact: Andreas Beckmann, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme: +43 676 84 27 28 216

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Romanian Bears Making More Trips Into Town

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If I came to visit Roamania I may never leave...you have such wonderful wildlife and Romania seems so beautiful xx Thank you Veronica for sharing your beautiful country and wildlife with us xx

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i would like so very much you to come i would be more than  honoured to guide you  to see our wonderful country, with so many beauties,let me know, if you decide to come one day....%#&!*%

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• Woman's cave - located near Baia de Fier, is a natural monument containing concretiuni limestone, true original embroidery, which gives it a special note. Reserve the Speleological is formed Bat Room, which hosts numerous colonies of bats and Bear Gallery, here is the bear bones of the cavern. Cave woman, now fully electrified, has served as shelter for men since era Middle Palaeolithic.
• Scarisoara Karst - located in Bihor Mountains, the largest cave with ice in Romania and among some of the world and unique in south-western Europe, located at the altitude, has a glacier volume and a thickness of 20 meters, 75,000 meters Cubic, it has not melted again with all that has a length of about 3000 years.
• Closani cave - situated at an altitude of 433 meters, at the foot of Tripura Mountains, a cave that has easily accessible lakes, fauna and many special limestone.
• Comarnic cave - situated in the Banat Mountains , in the north of Anina, the slope left of the Comarnic valley  at an altitude of 440 m, is the longest cave in Banat, with a length of 4040m.  Comarnic cave, declared a natural monument, is composed of huge rooms connected by a rich network of galleries, arranged on two levels;
• Buhui cave - is situated on the slope of the valley Buhui left in the mountains of Anina, at an altitude of 600 m. With a length of 3200 meters, the cave Buhui, owns one of the longest routes in underground Romania, para Buhui forming inside the cave more lakes and waterfalls;
• Meresti cave - the longest cave in the Eastern Carpathians, located in the Varghisului valley ;
• Cioclovina cave - situated in north-west Sebes Mountains, is one of the largest reserves of speleology Romania; Cioclovina Cave, including complex karst Cioclovina-Ponor, with walls decorated with beads of amber inlaid into account the fossil bats, was inhabited since the Palaeolithic Superior;
• Tura Mare cave - located in Sebes Mountains, has the largest colony of bats in the country;
• Bats cave - was near the town Moneasa and is decorated with stalagmite and Stalactite of different sizes, everything here springs and the river which passes near the treatment of Moneasa resort;
• Crystal cave - is made of black limestone rock;
• Puciosului cave - situated in the Massif Puciosu, near the town Balvanyos with strong hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide liberation, due to volcanic activity up to a million years;
• Popovat cave - a natural monument on the slope as a key Caras, at an altitude of 420 m;
• Tecuri cave - located in northern Sureanu Mountains, formed of very rich and rooms decorated with concrete limestone transparent colorless or different colors such as pastel pink and violet red;
• Sura Mare cave - was near the town Ponorsi is crossed by Ohaba river, which forms a lake inside, discovered here is the largest bat colony in the country;
• Bears cave - located 86 km from the town of Oradea in common Sudrigiu at an altitude of 419 meters, has a special Speleological architecture, here are the fossils bear the cavern, disappeared after the 15,000 years, with a length of over 1 km, the Cave Bear is endowed with formations of Stalactite and stalagmite.
• Sugau cave - is accessible from the village Voslabeni, overlaid with three entrances and numerous galleries leading to some large caves;
• Wind Cave - located on the left side of Crisului Quick, near Suncuius, with a length of over 4 km, is the longest cave in Romania is crossed by a course of underground water that has left various signs of corrosion.
• Meziad

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The Fortress of Ponor Cave
Has the highest cave entrance in Romania, of 76 m.

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The Living Fire ice cave
Is the third largest underground mass of permanent ice in Romania, with an estimated volume of 25,000 m³. Around noon, when the sun rays reach the block of ice through the upper entrance (which is a pothole), a spectacular optical phenomena is created, which inspired the name of the cave: Living Fire.

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The Onceasa Cave
Is one of the most important palaeotological sites in Europe, especially because of the mass of fossil remains of Ursus spelaeus, but also other extinct species. Many nature museums in Europe hold fossil samples extracted from this site.

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The Vârtop Cave (near Casa de Piatră hamlet)
3 footprints belonging to a group of Neanderthals were found in this cave (one of them is preserved at the „Emil Racoviţă” Speleological Institute in Cluj-Napoca, the other two were stolen soon after the discovery).

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The Ponor Glade
Is the only karst plain in Romania.

The Sighiştel Valley
By its nearly 200 caves on a surface of only 10² km, the valley has the highest density of natural cavities in Romania.

The Bears Cave (from Chişcău)
Is the only palaeontological site in Romania where intact fossil remains of Ursus spelaeus were found. There is one cave bear skeleton preserved in anatomical connection. The cave is also very rich in formations and has the most modern tourist installations and facilities of all the tourist caves in Romania.

Băiţa-Bihor Karst area
Old mining area, hiding a very complex endokarst including caves excavated in skarns by hydrothermal solutions. The cave found in the Tony mine is the largest cave of this kind in Romania, with more than 1,5 km development.

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it is so,so,so hot here in ROMANIA,

i would really like to swimm a bit in that nice lake....lol, but.....

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and......another part of this paradise....the great ennemi of a paradise : the polution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

raise your voice, my friend, where you are, where do you live, raise your voice and save our wonderful earth, its beautiful nature and animals, raise your voice!THEY NEED YOU!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfOfp77S4Cw

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just click and find more....

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HERE APUSENI MOUNTAINS, PICTURES

http://www.aboutromania.com/apuseni00.html

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The chamois, also known as shammy, black goat in Romanian, belongs to the family of Bovidae, subfamily of Caprinae and is named Rupicapra rupicapra in Latin. It can reach 0.8 meters at withers, 1.3 meters of lenght and 60 kilograms. The chamois lives in the high mountains of Europe, in Romania being found in Retezat, Făgăraş, Parîng and Bucegi between Walachia and Transylvania. In the fifties just 1.500 heads were left in Romania, but ever after their number kept increasing and increasing to a fair sum.

Beside its straight horns having the tips bent backward, the hunters are also keeping as trophy the chamois's mane. The mane starts on the forehead and goes all the way to the tail.

Disappeared from the Oriental Carpathian Mountains, it was recently colonized in Rodna's Mountains of Maramureş (Transylvania), especially in the Pietrosu Reserve that stretches over more than 3.300 hectares around the Pietrosu Peak (highest in the Oriental Carpathians, 2.303 m). At the time the preserving efforts are directed in reintroducing the chamois in the Ceahlău Reserve in Moldavia - worth noticing is that the chamois is and was the main charge on the Moldavian county of Neamţ coat of arms despite its extinction in the region.

The chamois photos above were taken in 2004, in the Bucegi Mountains, on the Jepii Mici (Small Dwarf Mountain Pines) Valley.

The chamois photos above were taken in september 2005, near Toaca Peak in Ceahlău Mountains.

The golden eagle is to be found in the mountainous districts of the Northern Hemisphere. It belongs to the order Falconiformes, family of Accipitridae = Aquilidae, being scientifically named Aquila chrysaëtos; it reaches 1 meter from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail and has a wingspan of up and even over 2 meters.

The common lynx, i.e. the Eurasian lynx is closely related to its North American cousin, the bobcat. It belongs to the order of Fissipeda, family of Felidae and is scientifically called Lynx lynx. Nocturnal and solitary animal, it reaches 1.5 meters in lenght (of which the tail spans around 25 centimeters), 85 centimeters in height and weighs up to 45 kilograms. In the eigthies only 1.500 heads were left in Romania, the hunt being allowed only under direct supervision of the Silviculture Ministry at the time.

The first nature preservation law was passed in Romania in 1930. In 1933 the "Comission for Preserving Nature's Monuments" was established, which the same year declared as protected and monuments of nature several animals, among which species of vultures, eagles, pelicans, the large egret, the small egret, the raven and the lynx. Emil Racoviţă was member of this comission and Romanian numismatics remembered him also on an anniversary coin.

The National Park Retezat dates back from 1935. Today it stretches on over 16.000 hectares, 1.600 from which enjoying integral protection.

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Tocmai am fost la Letea si am avut o intalnire placuta cu un cal salbatic.

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October 9th to 19th

On the way in the Piatra Craiului National Park

When I saw the steep Piatra Craiului mountains (in German: “Königsteingebirge” for the first time, I realized that it won’t be an easy task to hike and photograph there with all our photo equipment and maybe a tent. The steep and elongated ridge is about 25 km long and these are the longest limestone mountains of Romania. They are situated between Brasov (Kronstadt) and Arges or Zarnesti and Rucar. The most important starting points to the national park are the towns Zarnesti (Zernen), Magura, Pestera, Dambovicioara and Rucar. The highest peak is “La Om” with 2,238 m. Many impressive wild canyons can be seen in the white Jurassic limestone walls.
I started my work in Valea Prapastiilor near Zarnesti. In this canyon scenes of “Cold mountain” were filmed, a movie awarded with seven Oscars. Through the canyon a wide hiking trail leads you to the Curmatura-chalet and along to Piatra Mica (“Kleiner Königstein”, 1,816 m) at the North and up to Piatra Mare (“Großes Königsteinmassiv”, 2,238 m). On the left and right side of the path you see gigantic rocks and sometimes the canyon is not wider than four or five metres. I thought the tributary valleys were even more interesting than the canyon as they presented themselves natural without footpaths and human influences. In the wild we discovered a little brook. The water went down to the valley scenic and in cascades over the white stones.
The following way up lead us through a deep beech forest. It was nearly dusk when we arrived in the Curmatura-chalet which is located 1,470 m high and where we stayed overnight.
The next morning we set off early. Unfortunately we couldn’t see a beautiful sunrise because during the night heavy fog had come up. We climbed up to the Saura Crapaturii-saddle to get from there to the ridge. Unfortunately the path on the ridge was a “via ferrata”. It was too dangerous for us to go on because of our heavy baggage and the tripod. As it was clearing a bit we waited until the afternoon on the Crapaturii-saddle.

The light in the afternoon was beautiful because from time to time wafts of mist came through the canyon which gave the white steep rocks a softer look. Before we started our way down through the gorge we could enjoy a beautiful view to the Piatra Mica. The way down was everything else but easy because the path went 800 m in height down very steeply, vertically over slippery stones and boulders. When we saw our car in Zarnesti we were very happy about having made it finally. 

Although we were very exhausted from the day before, we started before sunrise once again to the Crapaturii canyon. During the night fog had come up again, but not as heavy as during the day before. The fog created a wonderful atmosphere as I had wished for. It is this mystic and mysterious light that I associate with the landscape of Transylvania. The gentle backlight increased the impact and gave the silhouettes of the rocks, the pinnacles and the forest between the mountains Großer Königstein and Kleiner Königstein an even darker look.
I dedicated my work during the next days to the forests because here the autumn colours were already at their height. As the summer was rather dry, the leaves of the beeches were quite brown and I was afraid that a change in the weather could blow the leaves from the trees quickly. In the Carpathians there is the biggest cohesive woodland and it is the biggest intact natural landscape of Europe out of Russia.

The forest mostly consists of natural beech and coniferous forest. These are the hilly and myste

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The forest mostly consists of natural beech and coniferous forest. These are the hilly and mysterious forests in which the carriage of the dark “Count Dracula” rushed through, accompanied by the howling of wolves. But we would have needed a more robust car to take photos of the western part of the national park along the river Dambovita, in which the forest is wilder and more natural. After driving hours into the valley we nearly got stuck in the mud because of deforestation work and were lucky that we could turn around and go back. We are aghast how rigorously areas in the national park and at its borders are being deforested. The most important topic of the WWF in Romania is to sensitise people in Romania against short-term profit making, like illegal deforestation and the illegal hunting of wild animals, e. g. brown bears.
The next morning we walked up a hillside from Sirnea and crossed shielings with traditionally put up haystacks. We passed age-old gnarled beeches until we arrived in the mountain forest. Sun slowly ascended out of the mist and the leaves of the beeches blazed golden in the backlight.

We were looking for a point from which we would have a better view over the forests. The trail on which we were, had the motto “Search for me”. After some detours we finally found an open space on a plateau with a beautiful view over the hilly wooded countryside. Unfortunately the evening sun disappeared in low stratus – as during the days before – one hour before sunset. On our way back we chose the short crosscountry option and walked back to town without a hiking trail. Shortly before we came to the first houses I took some pictures in the evening light. But soon the calmness was over when three quite aggressive dogs came running and barking at us. Luckily we could repel them with our tripod and slowly went back.

In the evening we drove to Katharina and Hermann Kurmes in Magura. The boarding house belongs to the association of ecological tourism in Romania which was founded by the Kurmes family. They gave us some advice for our work. Especially their delicious Romanian art of cooking let us recover a little – the daily walks with heavy photo equipment are very exhausting.
The next day is full moon and at the same time a holiday in Romania. We were looking for a proper point for taking photographs for the evening. On our walks during the last days through the forest and the Craiului mountains we haven’t met one single person. Except for the infrequent tapping of a woodpecker there was absolute silence. But today seems to be a special day: the young and the old are on the way, the elderly people with walking sticks or horse carriages, they stream towards the forests. We try to find out what makes them do such a walking tour. They tell us that they want to pilgrim to a pilgrimage chapel in the forest. By the wayside they celebrate and have a picnic. Towards afternoon the convoy moves back to the village. We, however, are still busy with our full moon photography, because it is quite difficult to find a proper point of view for that. Somehow I can’t achieve the pictures that I have in mind. We try it from the path on which the pilgrims walked on today. Not all pilgrims took their waste home properly and so it is now scattered in the forest. In general the waste problem is a big problem in the whole country. I had the thought: “Hopefully the waste doesn’t attract bears”. The sun already set and the moon slowly rose when suddenly we heard the grumbling of a bear behind us. As it was already too dark we couldn’t see the brown bear. So we decided that it would be better to go back.
The next evening we started a new try to take photos of the full moon. But unfortunately it was too foggy in the evening and so again I didn’t get any good results.
For our last walking tour in the national park we drove to Cabana Plaiul Foii. Although it was again quite misty with no good light conditions we decided to hike from Cabana Plaiul Foii to the rock arcades that were made by erosion. The way up was again very steep. Again the light wasn’t very good although in the afternoon there were a few sunrays. But I wasn’t satisfied with the photographic results.

From the next day on to the end of our trip we had wonderful clear autumn weather. The mountainous massif and the autumn coloured forest presented themselves as on a picture postcard.
On October 20th we went on to the National Park Cheile Bicazului and Hasmas Mountains in Romania. On the way we visited the biggest bear park of Europe, which is situated near Brasov. The park has an area of 50 ha which is covered with forest, hills, brooks and dens and so conforms to the natural living environment of the bears. The bear park is not a public zoo but the last refuge for tortured and abused brown bears of private keeping in Romania. It made us very sad to see bears whose eyesight and sense of smell had been destroyed with acid solution just to make them obedient to human beings. It is

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It made us very sad to see bears whose eyesight and sense of smell had been destroyed with acid solution just to make them obedient to human beings. It is horrendous with what an incredible atrocity some people deal with their co-creatures. It is highly appreciable with how much dedication Mr. and Mrs. Lapis founded that project that is funded by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). We want to thank Mrs. Lapis that we got the permission to take photographs.

Please note that blogs reflect our photographers' opinions and not necessarily those of the directors of Wild Wonders of Europe.

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