Follow the Danube through Romania and discover a landscape that changes from dramatic gorges and ancient mountains to islands, wetlands and the extraordinary Danube Delta. Hike, watch wildlife, explore by boat or simply slow down beside the river as it makes its final journey toward the Black Sea.
The Danube Gorges/Clisura Dunării
Stretching for approximately 135 km between Baziaș, where the Danube enters Romania, and the Iron Gates Dam I in Gura Văii, the Danube Gorges are part of the Iron Gates Nature Park.
Highlights include the Great Island at Moldova Veche, the Great and Small Cauldrons, Tabula Traiana and the monumental rock sculpture of King Decebal. Hiking and boat trips offer different ways to experience the gorges and get closer to the Danube.
Comana Nature Park
About 50 km from the Danube, between Giurgiu and Bucharest, Comana Nature Park protects around 25,000 hectares, including 8,000 hectares of forest. This internationally recognized wetland is home to 141 bird species and 13 fish species.
Explore its wetlands and forests on foot or from the water, combining birdwatching and outdoor activities. Comana is also home to one of Romania’s largest outdoor recreation resorts.
Braila Small Wetland Nature Park
Brăila Small Wetland Nature Park follows 62 km of the Lower Danube between Giurgeni–Vadu Oii bridge and Brăila, covering more than 24,000 hectares.
The Danube and its branches surround seven islands and large islets, together with 52 temporary or permanent lakes and ponds. Seasonal flooding connects the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, creating a distinctive Danube landscape. The park hosts majority of bird species found in the Danube Delta, earning it the nickname “the Second delta.”
The Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is one of Romania’s great natural treasures and a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. Its extraordinary mosaic of channels, lakes, reed beds, forests and sand dunes shelters more than 5,000 known species of plants and animals and over 360 bird species.
Explore by small boat, watch pelicans and other waterbirds, or discover communities where everyday life remains connected to the river. At Letea Forest, sand, forest, wetland and village life create one of the Delta’s most distinctive landscapes.
Visitors need a permit to enter the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, available online or in Tulcea.
Macin National Park
Măcin Mountains are Romania’s oldest mountains, part of the ancient Hercynian mountain chain. The national park covers more than 11,000 hectares and includes the distinctive Dobruja beech forest, a remnant of the forests that were once covering the area, comprising 300-year-old trees of 1 m diameter. For active travellers, the park offers 12 marked hiking trails, 5 themed trails, an equestrian route and 10 cycling trails.
It is a very different final chapter to a Danube nature journey: ancient rocky ridges rising above the lowlands before the river reaches its Delta and the Black Sea.
