Radio România Internațional

Tag: Muddy Volcanoes

  • ‘Ținutul Buzăului – The Buzău Land’ – validated as a UNESCO Global Geopark

    ‘Ținutul Buzăului – The Buzău Land’ – validated as a UNESCO Global Geopark

    The Buzău Land in south-eastern Romania has officially received the title of UNESCO Global Geopark, being recognized as a territory with natural and cultural values of global importance. It thus becomes the second geopark in Romania included in the Global Geoparks Network (GGN), after Țara Haţegului – Hațeg Land (west). The rural region of the submontane area of Buzău County, included in this geopark, stretches over an area of over one thousand square kilometers and has a population of over 40,000 inhabitants. The muddy volcanoes, the salt domes, the living fires, the trovants or stone formations from Ulmet, the cave settlements and the amber from Colți are among the most famous attractions of this region. The UNESCO Global Geopark status certifies the respective territory as an area where considerable efforts are made for the educational, economic and socio-cultural development of communities, in agreement with the protection and development of the environment.



    Here is Răzvan-Gabriel Popa, the manager of the geopark, with details: The geopark is not a protected area, it is very important to mention that. The geopark itself is an area of sustainable development, which means that we do not come up with restrictions even on the environmental side. We, when protecting something in the geopark, we are protecting specifically the objectives that are of interest. Instead, what we’re doing, and what we’re going to do even more now, is working on mentalities. We work together with people so that they understand, practically and with results, why we need to protect the environment: because by protecting it, we are actually using it. And I can give a very clear example: lets say, we have somewhere a stone with very beautiful fossils. Anyone could come with a hammer and break it and sell the pieces of the fossils, until there is nothing left. Or we can protect that stone, tell its story, the story of the locals about it, the story of the Earth formation which is related to the formation of that stone and we can have a tourist circuit there and locals who can be storytellers and guides and guesthouses in the area and so on… We are trying to integrate the natural heritage and the environment into this economic and social educational circuit. It’s another way to revitalize communities. We expect that now these things will happen much more on a different level, because in addition to the efforts we are making together with the authorities and our partners there is this UNESCO status and this responsibility that I think will make us all look at things differently.



    Buzău Land will also benefit from the UNESCO promotion through the European and Global Geoparks Network, and the new status will attract tourists and will have the potential to convince entrepreneurs to invest in alternative tourism, agritourism, cultural or adventure tourism. Also, this status will entail financing and investment in many other fields of activity, being an opportunity for economic and social revival of this territory.



    What’s next? Here is with details Răzvan-Gabriel Popa, the manager of the geopark and also the director of the Buzău Land Association: On short and medium term, the Buzău Land Association will continue the process of developing and managing the area together with partners, with the County Council, with the mayors offices and with the University of Bucharest. We are planning several concrete actions. This very year, for example, we will make at least one plastic recycling station. The plan is to have five recycling stations across the region. People will collect their own plastic, take it to the local recycling point, where it will be chopped, melted and returned in the form of various objects: combs, pots, buckets, laundry hooks. Basically, we’re turning plastic from a waste into a circular local resource. We plan to do a lot more biking and hiking trails. We started doing these trails as of last year. These trails in the middle of nature take visitors to observation points from where they can watch animals. In Buzău Land we have the wildest areas in Romania, we have a very rich flora and fauna. The hiking routes will also take visitors to natural and cultural points of interest. And we are continuing the process of designating and protecting important areas. We designate, together with the mayors offices, protected areas of local interest. Last year, for instance, we designated the Boilers from Beciu, which are one of the most beautiful sites with muddy volcanoes and the least known perhaps. We practically protect these areas, we initiate small rehabilitation works and reintegrate them into the tourist, economic and educational circuit. We’re going to continue to do these things, we’re also continuing educational projects with schools, with children, we’re doing natural science labs. This year we will make the fourth one, most likely. There are many interesting things to do.



    The UNESCO geoparks list includes 177 territories from 46 countries, whose sites and landscapes of global value are managed through an integrated approach, which includes the tourist development, education and conservation of the natural and cultural heritage. (LS)

  • Tourist attractions in Buzau County

    Tourist attractions in Buzau County

    Buzau County is home to beautiful monasteries, historic monuments, caves and various natural sites. Cristina Partal, the head of the Buzau branch of the National Association of Rural, Ecological and Cultural Tourism, ANTREC, says the tourist sites of Buzau are part of the world heritage: “Tourists can visit the so-called Buzau Geopark, a large area consisting of 18 villages. Those who are familiar with the concept at European level, given that there are over 60 geo-parks all over the world, will be excited to find one in Buzau. It is made of tourist objectives of world renown, such as the Muddy Volcanoes in Scortoasa and Berca, the Amber Museum in Colti and the cave settlements in Alunis, Bozioru and Valea Slanicului. Everything can be potentially discovered here. Children will be happy to discover 30-million-old secrets of the Earth in a 30-km area on Slanic Valley. Other sites worth mentioning are the Meledic Plateau, the Living Fires of Lopatari and Terca, the Salt Mount, the Manzalesti Coarse, which is in fact a tuff, namely the ash of a prehistoric volcano.



    A visit to the Amber Museum in Colti is a must. The museum displays some 300 amber stones of various colors, from translucent yellow to dense black. Moreover, the museum plays host to the worlds second largest amber stone, weighing a little less than 2 kilos, the biggest one being on show at the Buzau County Museum. Located close to Colti is also a famous spa resort.



    Cristina Partal: “The Sarata Monteoru spa is attested in documents as early as 1895 by Grigore Constantin Monteoru, an industrialist of Greek origin. At the time, the spa was compared to Karlovy Vary and Baden Baden. It was also dubbed the ‘cane spa, as people came there leaning on a cane and left walking. A larger number of tourists come to spend some time in the spa, the more so as more pools filled with salty water have been opened to the public. So, the spa is no longer boasting one only pool, but also swimming pools filled with salty water coming from the same source, Dealul Muratoarea. They have a high standard of comfort and provide high quality services. That is why we invite tourists to come back to Sarata Monteoru any time they want and enjoy the curative properties of this extraordinary salty water.



    In the town of Berca, in Buzau Valley, there is a traffic sign to the so-called Muddy Volcanoes. At the end of a 12 km track, you reach one of the most interesting geological reserves in Romania, at Paclele Mici. Tourists can see a strange, Moon-like landscape, created by numerous small volcanoes, whose craters emanate natural gas. When working its way to the surface, the gas also pushes up water and higher soil strata, which look like white-grayish or brown grayish viscous mud. The colour depends on the substances brought to the surface: oil, chalk or calcareous earth. This lava is permanently shaping the landscape, on a 25-hectare area, where no plant is growing.



    There are also educational programs unfolding in the region, not only in the Muddy Volcanoes area, as the president of the Buzau branch of ANTREC, Cristina Partal, says: “When visiting Buzau, tourists can read about and think of various things related to the history of the Earth. They can actually touch ash on the prehistoric volcano there. In Naeni, in the Dealu Mare area, one can find chalk and prehistoric shells. We also carry out educational programs for children, under which we encourage them to touch a shell, dating back to pre-dinosaur times. Furthermore, volcanoes offer an incredibly beautiful show and the legends behind them fuel ones imagination, telling about dragons coming from the centre of the Earth and which got killed by the brave men living on those realms.



    In Naeni, Buzau County, the tradition of stone carving has been preserved unaltered, to this day. Elena Stanciu, a local tourist guide in Naeni, has more on that: “Naeni is the newest and least-known tourist area in Buzau. Here, almost everything is related to stone. The old tradition of stone-carving is preserved almost unaltered to this day in Naeni, a place where limestone is at home. The craft of stone masonry has been handed down from generation to generation since times immemorial, until it became art. In the region you can visit the sculpture camp, actually a cluster of sculptures made in limestone, polished by children from Naeni, Slobozia and Chisinau. It is located in an area that offers stunning birds eye views. To the north, you can admire the ridges of the Carpathians, while to the south you can have a clear view of the Baragan Plainfield. Another tourist attraction is a church carved into the mountain rock, looking like an old fortresses. It is a unique asset in Europe. The interior, the exterior, the interior decorations, the iconostasis, everything is made of limestone. “



    The Ciolanu Monastery, 40 kilometres north-west of Buzau is also worth visiting. In Ciolanu you can also visit a museum, which boasts a collection of 200 year old icons and other religious artefacts.


    All around the county, tourists can find accommodation in many guest-houses where they can also taste local wines which are famous across Romania.