The Buila-Vânturarița National Park ( ro, Parcul Național Buila-Vânturarița) ( national park category II IUCN) is a protected area situated in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, in the central-northern part of

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) of Romania. Located in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt River), it is also part of the wider Wallachia region. Its capital city is Râ ...

, in the administrative territory of the localities

Costești Costești () is a town in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hung ...

, Bărbătești, and

Băile Olănești Băile Olănești is a town located in Vâlcea County, Romania. The town administers eight villages: Cheia, Comanca, Gurguiata, Livadia, Mosoroasa, Olănești, Pietrișu, and Tisa. It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia. The town is ...

Location

The Buila-Vânturarița National Park is located in the central-northern part of Vâlcea County in the Căpățânii Mountains, a mountain group included in the

Parâng Mountains The Parâng Mountains (; hu, Páring-hegység) are one of the highest mountain ridges in Romania and Southern Carpathians, with the highest peak, Parângu Mare, reaching 2,519 m. Description The Parâng Mountains are located in the south-wester ...

, a subgroup of mountains in the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Pr ...

Description

Buila-Vânturarița with an area of was declared natural protected area by the ''Government Decision No 2151 in 2004'' (published in Romanian Official Paper No 38 on January 12, 2005) and represents a mountainous area with

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

specific to the Southern Carpathians. Protected areas included in the park: ''Trovant Museum, Călinești-Brezoi Forest, Valea Cheii Forest, Rădița-Mânzu, Mount Stogu, Arnăuți Cave, Clopot Cave, Munteanu-Murgoci Cave, Pagoda Cave, Valea Bistrița Cave.

Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna is diverse, many of the species are protected by international conventions.

Flora

Woody plants consist of: English oak (''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

''), European beech (''

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

''), European ash (''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

''), pine (''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

''), Norway spruce (''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

''), fir (''

Abies Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related t ...

''), European yew (''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain ...

''), Scots pine (''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and or ...

''), linden ('' Tilia''), birch (''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 t ...

'') and species of shrubs: mountain pine (''

Pinus mugo ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...

''), savin (''

Juniperus sabina ''Juniperus sabina'', the savin juniper or savin, is a species of juniper native to the mountains of central and southern Europe and western and central Asia, from Spain to eastern Siberia, typically growing at altitudes of .Farjon, A. (2005). ' ...

'') or common juniper (''

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

''). Herbs: Edelweiss ('' Leontopodium alpinum''), lady's slipper ('' Cypripedium calceolus''), mountain bellflower ('' Campanula alpina''), yellow monkshood ('' Aconitum anthora''), belladonna ('' Atropa belladonna''), ligularia (''

Ligularia sibirica ''Ligularia sibirica'' is the type species for the genus '' Ligularia''. It is a 0.3-1.3 m tall perennial herbaceous plant, native to fens and damp grassy meadows in Siberia, Central and Eastern Europe. Once fairly common, it has disappeared f ...

''), rustyback ('' Asplenium ceterach''), yellow anemone ('' Anemone ranunculoides''), globe-flower (''

Trollius europaeus ''Trollius europaeus'', the globeflower, is a perennial flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. The plant is native to Europe and Western Asia and is a protected species in Russia and Bulgaria. In Udmurtia, this plant is one of the nation ...

''), windflower ('' Anemone nemorosa''), martagon (''

Lilium martagon ''Lilium martagon'', the martagon lily or Turk's cap lily, is a Eurasian species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from Portugal east through Europe and Asia as far east as Mongolia. Description It is stem-rooting, growing be ...

''), centaurea ('' Centaurea atropurpurea''), daphne (''

Daphne mezereum ''Daphne mezereum'', commonly known as mezereum, mezereon, February daphne, spurge laurel or spurge olive, is a species of '' Daphne'' in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to most of Europe and Western Asia, north to northern Scan ...

'')

Fauna

Species of mammals:

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

(''Cervus epaphus''),

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

(''Ursus arctos''), chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra''),

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(''Capreolus capreolus''),

Eurasian wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

(''Canis lupus''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa''), lynx (''Lynx lynx''),

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

(''Martes martes''), squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''),

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

(''Meles meles''),

barbastelle ''Barbastella'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats. There are seven extant species in this genus and one only known from fossil remains. Species The genus consists of the following species: * ''Barbastella barbastellus'' – western barbastelle ...

(''Barrbastella barbastellus''),

lesser mouse-eared bat The lesser mouse-eared bat or lesser mouse-eared myotis (''Myotis blythii'') is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Distribution Lesser mouse-eared bats can be found in the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, A ...

(''Myotis blythii''),

brown long-eared bat The brown long-eared bat or common long-eared bat (''Plecotus auritus'') is a small Eurasian insectivorous bat. It has distinctive ears, long and with a distinctive fold. It is extremely similar to the much rarer grey long-eared bat which was o ...

(''Plecotus auritus''); Species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

western capercaillie The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...

(''Tetrao urogallus''),

white-crowned wheatear The white-crowned wheatear, or white-crowned black wheatear (''Oenanthe leucopyga'') is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old Wor ...

(''Oenanthe leucopyga''),

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

(''Milvus milvus''), red-footed falcon (''Falco vespertinus''),

white wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in ...

(''Motacilla alba''),

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

(''Caprimulgus europaeus''),

rock bunting The rock bunting (''Emberiza cia'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. T ...

(''Emberiza cia''),

lesser spotted eagle The lesser spotted eagle (''Clanga pomarina'') is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Acc ...

(''Aquila pomarina''),

wallcreeper The wallcreeper (''Tichodroma muraria'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of the Palearctic from southern Europe to central China. It is the only extant member of both the genus ''Tichodroma'' and the family Tichodr ...

(''Tichodroma muraria''),

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...

(''Upupa epops''), Reptiles, amphibians and

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

green lizard The European green lizard (''Lacerta viridis'') is a large lizard distributed across European midlatitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey. It is often seen sunning on rocks or lawns, ...

(''Lacerta viridis''), common European adder (''Vipera berus''),

smooth snake The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

(''Coronella austriaca''), fire salamander (''Salamandra salamandra''),

alpine newt The alpine newt (''Ichthyosaura alpestris'') is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and thro ...

(''Triturus alpestris''),

common toad The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

(''Bufo bufo''),

yellow-bellied toad The yellow-bellied toad (''Bombina variegata'') belongs to the order Anura, the family Bombinatoridae, and the genus of fire-bellied toads. The toad is distributed mainly across western Europe as well as a handful of countries in eastern Euro ...

(''Bombina variegata'') or

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian ...

(''Rana temporaria'').enrin.grida.no – Flota and fauna of Romania
retrieved on June 04, 2012

Access

European route E81 European route E 81 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Constanța, Romania and ends in Mukachevo, Ukraine. The road is long. The road follows the route: Mukachevo – Halmeu – Satu Mare – Zalău – Cluj- ...

București – Corbii Mari – Piteşti – Morărești –

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, centr ...

– national road DN64 – Vlăduceni – Valea Cheii – county road DJ654 – Cheia * National road (

DN7 DN7 ( ro, Drumul Național 7) is a national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the Banat region, in western Romania, and further to the eastern European capitals Budapest and Belgrade via the border with Hungary at Nădlac. It is a high- ...

)

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

– Tălmaciu – Câinenii Mari – Călinești – national road DN7A –

Brezoi Brezoi is a town located in Vâlcea County, Romania. It administers eight villages: Călinești, Corbu, Drăgănești, Golotreni, Păscoaia, Proieni, Valea lui Stan and Văratica. It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia Oltenia (, also ...

– Brădișor Lake.

Gallery

File:Trollius europaeus 002.JPG, globe-flower File:Gemse01.JPG, Rupicapra rupicapra File:Milvus milvus R(ThKraft).jpg, Milvus milvus

References

External links

*
Buila-Vânturarița Natural Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buila-Vanturarita National Park National parks of Romania Geography of Vâlcea County Protected areas established in 2005 Tourist attractions in Vâlcea County 2005 establishments in Romania