Danube Delta: A lost paradise

A few routes in the Danube Delta. Tourists interested in becoming acquainted with the delta, should choose a few accessible variants in the fluvial delta, the marine delta, the Razelm-Sinoe lagoons, or they should choose a mixed route that will allow them to have a general view of the delta. We suggest several variants, which can be checked up on the enclosed map. In the fluvial delta, you can choose routes for one day, two days or four days.
We leave Tulcea by the branch with the same name and we enter the canal nearby M35 stone. We cross the strengthening dam of the branch and go into high fluvial deltaic plain, where a riverside coppice, made up of poplars (Populus canescens and Populus alba) and few willows (Salix alba), grows. On the border of the canal, there are a few temporary garden settlements, where Tulcean inhabitants fond of nature retire in summer, looking after their plot of land or of orchard. The wide canal by which we travel, ties the Tulcea branches with the Chilia branch and it was cut out at the beginning of the '80s. The landscape is monotonous and only two birds are to be met. When we have traveled approximately the half of the route, the boat takes a bend to the right on the Sontea stream, partially dredged and regularized. Gradually the riverside coppice changes, and the willows (Salix alba) combined with poplars become predominant. The passage to the low fluvial deltaic plain is marked by the extension of aquatic areas on both sides of the stream and by the transformation of the riverside coppice which is constantly flooded and where willows (Salix alba and S. fragilis) are prevailing. Along the whole route, at the extremity of the canal, in water or in its immediate neighborhood, bald coots, gallinules, wild ducks, are to be noticed, and in crowning of the coppice, flycatchers, Silvias, cuckos, chaffinches, crows are prevailing. Presently, on the left side of the canal among willows and read plot curtains, there occurs the Nebunu pool. We stop the boat. The infernal noise of the engine ceases, silence spreads overruling. We can now listen to the noise produced by thousands of creatures, especially birds: warblers, wild ducks, swans, herons and frogs too, an unforgettable concert! The binoculars will help us perceive this wonderful surrounding world. Muskrats, maybe even some otter will come close to us silently, we will notice both water snakes and water tortoises crossing the canal. Again, we get the engine started, advancing through the green gallery of the Sontea stream. The same wonderful kaleidoscope accompanies for several hours. Then, we suddenly enter the wide branch of Dunarea Veche and shortly we will cast anchor in the port of the Mila 23 Village. It is a hill town, with houses aligned in one row, and the native people here are exclusively concerned with fishing. We carry on our trip by the aquatic boulevard of the Dunarea Veche up to Crisan, where we halt at the Lebada complex made up of a comfortable hotel, camping, camping areas for tents, sports fishers' cabins. You can also find here a lookout tower, which offers you an excellent sight horizon. Looking southwards (to the Sulina canal), we will see the limit between the fluvial delta with rich riverside coppices, and the marine delta, marked by endless read plots. We can notice the confluence between Dunarea Veche, which carries clear waters from the delta, and the Sulina canal, which carries turbid alluvial deposits waters. Finally we will admire the birds' flight towards or back from their feeding places. We will return to Tulcea by the Sulina canal. We pass by the black obelisk that is a reminder of the inauguration of the canal by king Carol I and we notice the profound monotony of the landscape, as contrasted with the Sontea stream.
For a two day - root, we can follow the direction described above up to Crisan, where we accommodate. In the evening, we can cross the Sulina canal and we can visit Crisana village, typical of fluvial levees: for more than 8 km there is a single row of houses, only seldom two adjoining houses. On the next day we set out by the Caraorman canal, very wide, split in order to allow ships to navigate on the planned sand exploitation. Very soon, we reach the basin with metal dinosaurs and with the ghost-like lugubrious alignment of deserted blocks. They represent the remnants of the terrible project of quartz sand exploitation from the Caraorman field. We sat ashore, cross the village southwards and we reach the border of the dune field in about 20 minutes. We admire here the high dunes, but also the psamophilic vegetation, the forest and the Caraorman field with the village bearing the same name. We come back to the boat; we turn to the Litcov channel, which we cross up to the confluence with the Sfantu Gheorghe branch. We cover a riverside coppices alternating with read plots and we can notice a great variety of bird species. The Sfantu Gheorghe route is much more monotonous. We can see on the left side the inselberg and pediment relief characteristic of northern Dobrudja, developed on some of the oldest rocks in the country.

A longer route, of 4 days in the delta gives us the opportunity of becoming familiar with all its features. On the first day, we follow route 1 up to Crisan and we carry on our trip, by the Sulina canal, until the port with the same name, where we accommodate. We visit the town including the adjoining 6 cemeteries, which remind us of the tumultuous history of the place. On the next day we set out to Sfistovka by boat by the canal that starts from Sulina. We set ashore and start on foot southwards, where we find Cardon village. We go through dune villages with psamophilic herbaceous vegetation, bushes and forest clusters. The boat expects us at Cardon and we return to Sulina continuing our trip to the sea. At the end of the canal we can admire the sea and we come back to the town. In the afternoon, we visit the beach of the town, protected by jetty, which supports the increase of its area. On the third day, we set out from Sulina, go into the Bursuca canal, and then by the Rosu-Imputita canal, we go into the Rosulet pool and then into the big Rosu lake (ghiol). This route will give us the chance to know the marine delta, with its extended read plots and with the big marshes. We will be struck by the absence of scarcity of willows to which we had become accustomed on the previous day. From the Rosu lake, we pass by the Rosu tourist's complex which provides 120 accommodation rooms in cottages, we cross the Puiu lake, then the southern extremity of the Puiulet lake, we go into the Caraorman channel, which will lead us to the village. We make a 2 - hour halt so that we can visit the village and the dune field. We return to Sulina. On the last day, we leave from Sulina to Crisan, go into the Caraorman canal and then into the Litcov channel, following the direction of the previous routes. We arrive at

Tulcea in the evening, acquainted with the delta and with the soul filled with the vibrations of the cosmic, terrestrial, marine fields that interfere into the delta.
These are only a few suggestions of trips into the delta. Obviously, we can settle any route, if we examine the enclosed map. We will demand a notification from the Administration of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation, we will contact a tourist's agency and we will start our journey.
We advise you: on any route that you will choose, make frequent halts, stop the engine or any other noisy devices, do not speak, just watch and listen to the delta. Even if you do not take any photos, you will have unique satisfactions. Always follow the ARBDD instructions that are shown on panels.