This amazing wetland shelters over 310 species of birds countless fish from royal sturgeon down to carp and perch, while its 1,150 kinds of plants range from sinuous lianas suggesting tropical forests to gently blossoming water lilies. Only 15,000 people make their living from fishing, livestock breeding, and reed harvesting in this vast area. Their villages, lapped by the waterways, seem untouched by time. The starting point for a Delta adventure is usually the ancient city of Tulcea, with modern tourist hotels and special small cruise ships, plus a worthwhile museum devoted to the natural history of the Delta. You will see pelicans and cormorants, eagles and vultures.
Local fishermen make their own version of Russian bortsch over an open fire.
At restaurants you can sample Danube herring, croquettes of zander, or sturgeon steak, tastly washed down with Aligote, Muscat or Merlot wines. In every way a Delta trip is a memorable experience. Wherever you look, you can see floating islets covered by rush and reed, lians like in tropical woods, lakes with muddy depths but with surfaces like carpets of water lilies hiding a puzzling under-water world. The silent boats of fishermen stir numberless pelicans and flocks of cormorants and moor hens from their nests beyond the reed curtains. This tour will help you as well, to discover the Romanian legends like that of Count Dracula by visiting the turreted castles and high-roofed wooden churches of Transylvania.