Bucharest hides one of the most beautiful and exotic natural wonders within an urban landscape. Right in the middle of the dusty gray buildings and the bustling roads there is a true ecosystem that waits to be discovered. This amazing paradise can be found on the abandoned Vacaresti Lake. A construction that was systematized when Nicolae Ceausescu was still ruling the country and it was afterwards neglected by the authorities has become a true island of serenity, where rare species of animals and birds live undisturbed.
In this gorgeous place experts have observed and recorded over 60 species of birds. Many of them are endangered species that are protected by special European laws. Specialists say that the birds have migrated here because they found plenty of food resources and they are now part of an entire ecosystem. Take a kayak for a stroll and you will have the feeling that you are surrounded by a true Delta scenery.
Even though its natural beauty is breathtaking only a few people are aware of the fact that in the heart of Bucharest such a place exists. Foxes, ferrets, water turtles, snakes, fish and rare birds are just a few of the inhabitants of Bucharest’s Delta. When you step into this place you enter a green paradise that draws the line between the urban bustle and a unique oasis of quietness. There is an actual dam that separates these two worlds. It was built during the communist period and beyond it there is the true Bucharest. Somewhere behind you can even see the Palace of Parliament.
Lake Vacaresti where the Delta of Bucharest can be found is located between Sun Plaza Mall, Rin Grand Hotel and Asmita Gardens Towers at the end of Tineretului Boulevard. Currently, this natural attraction has been declared a protected natural park and represents the first urban natural park in Romania.
Lake Vacaresti is the result of the bifurcation of Dambovita River, known during the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu as Balta Vacaresti. This was a part of Bucharest’s hydrological system of defense against floods. In the year 1986 the construction works started, but were soon stopped after the fall of communism, in 1989, and today Lake Vacaresti is just another one of the projects that were started during the communist period, but were never completed.
On the 5th of June 2012, on the International Environment Day, Miss Rovana Plumb, as Environmental Minister, held a press conference at Groapa Vacaresti to speak about this special natural area, declaring it a protected natural park. Since then, this wild natural attraction of about 190 hectares started being analyzed from several points of view.
Biologists and photographers continued to study and record the species of plants, animals and birds found in this Delta, drawing up lists with descriptions and photos. For instance, there were identified hundreds of species of invertebrates, a few species of amphibians and many species of reptiles and fishes.
Among the species that live here today we mention hawks, wild ducks, pheasants, foxes, otters, rabbits, ferrets, water turtles, snakes, fish and about 80 species of birds. A visit to this wonderful green paradise surrounded by the gray urban landscape is a truly unique experience, one that you simply cannot miss.
