Discover wild Romania

I am #NaturallyCurious

Go to the heart of Romania and explore the Carpathian Mountains, where you’ll find the real Transylvania and many areas of strikingly unspoiled nature. Most of the country’s 27 national and nature parks, are located in the Carpathian area. 22 are of them are managed by Romsilva, the National Forest Administration. 

The Romanian Carpathian Mountains (47% of the mountain chain is located in Romania) are divided into three groups: the Eastern Carpathians, Southern Carpathians and Western Carpathians. The highest peaks are located in the Southern Carpathians: Moldoveanu (2544 m/8,346 feet) and Negoiu (2535 m/8,316 feet). They are home to a wide range of wild animals, from predators such as the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx, to bison, foxes, deer, and chamois. A significant part of the brown bear and wolf populations of Europe live here. 

Following the EDEN (European Destinations of Excellence) contest in Romania, the winning destination for the theme tourism and protected areas was Apuseni Nature Park; the four runners-up were the Danube Delta, Vânători-Neamț Nature Park, Buila Vânturarița National Park, and Mureș Floodplain Nature Park.  

There are also six ecotourism destinations in Romania, designated as such based on evoluations including the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria and the European Ecotourism Labelling Standard. They are: Eco-Maramureș, Țara Dornelor, Retezat- Țara Hețegului, Colinele Transilvaniei, Băile Tușnad și Împrejurimile, and Vama Buzăului.  

The European bison, Europe’s heaviest wild land mammal, absent from Romania’s fauna as a species for 169 years, and was reintroduced in 1958. The most famous places where you can spot bison are in Vânători-Neamț Nature Park, at the Hațeg Reserve, the Bucșani Reserve, and at Vama Buzăului.  

A special home for bears is the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zărnești, where over 130 bears rescued from difficult conditions enjoy life amidst 69 hectares of coniferous forests. Many specialists recognize Libearty as the most ethical sanctuary in the world. 

The Danube Delta, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and the third most biodiverse in the world, is an avian paradise. More than 360 species of birds live or visit here, including a significant population of the white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), the largest in Europe; 60 % of the world population of pygmy cormorants (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus); and the red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis). 50 % of the world’s red-breasted geese overwinter in the Danube Delta. 

Other UNESCO nature sites In Romania are the Pietrosu Mare (Rodna Mountains) Biosphere Reserve, Hațeg Global Geopark, Buzău Land Geopark,  and the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe.