Trip to Caraorman

Its etymology comes from the Turkish language and means The Black Forest. Similar but yet different from the much more famous Letea Forest, Caraorman Forest worth every effort to discover it.

Located on the levee with the same name, exactly in the center of the Danube Delta, which is part of the same initial land cord that blocked Tulcea bay 8,000 years ago, with the Letea levee, this being the reason that the two forests are having similar flora.

The central area of the levee still keeps sand dunes not covered by vegetation, which means that they are at the discretion of the winds that permanently transform them. The south of the levee is occupied by Caraorman Forest, famous for its unique landscapes and flora.

According to some authors, the first settlements on the Caraorman levee were some of the “Cerkezi /Circassians“ whose activity was quite controversial, including being accused of piracy. Over the time they began to establish the hahols outlining the current village. During the communist period, both Romanians and Lipovans were relocated, as a work force for the extraction factory of quartz sand.

Once you reach the port of the village, you are transposed in time to the communist period from which today there is only an industrial landscape, outlined by the ruins of the former mining of quartz sand. Passing the deep traces left by the strong desire for industrialization, you discover a deltaic village, with traditional houses, with reed roofs and characteristic colors of hahols and lipovans. Most houses are well preserved and offer the image of an authentic village. In the summer, the sandy paths take you to the time when the first families settled in the place known today as the Caraorman village.

Caraorman Forest – you can reach the forest by foot but it is not recommended (on spring it is flooded and on summer it is much too hot). Our local partners offer the opportunity to visit the forest by car or tractor with trailer. The central point of interest here is an old oak, known today as the “The Kneed Oak”, around which several local legends have emerged.

You have already assumed that it is an oak forest, predominating (Quercus pedunculata), with specimens older than 400 years, besides poplar and ash as well as Grey Willow (Salix cinerea) and redbush buckthorn. An important element of the flora is the climbing plants, the Greek liana (Periplopca graeca), the hops, the Fly Honeysuckle, the wild vine and the ivy. Orchids are present in large numbers in spring.

The flora it is so diversified, from the subtropical forest, with an impressive appearance especially during the floods, until the desert vegetation in the sandy areas creates a huge biodiversity of this habitat.

Caraorman Forest is a monument of nature since 1940 and in 2000 received the status of protected area.

Fauna is also important in this area, the old trees providing nesting place for large species of birds, woodpeckers and forest birds. Amongst mammals, the wide spread of the golden jackal should be noted.

But you cannot leave Caraorman without trying the tasty traditional dishes, cooked in a local household. Catfish soup, specific to the Ukrainians and the different ways of preparing Carp, Prussian Carp or Pike will delight your senses.

A settlement in the heart of the Delta, a village that only the connoisseurs of the area know how to reach the most beautiful canals created by the Danube, together with the locals here, with their traditions and customs will surely impress you and create strong memories.