Chilia Veche – Pearl of the Danube Delta

A refuge between water and land

This small lakeside village is isolated among the waters, so the traveller looking for accommodation in Chilia Veche discovers it can only be reached by two means, both involving crossing wide stretches of water. That is why many local guesthouses offer boat transfer from Tulcea to the destination. The journey is about 60 km, and guesthouses often provide an experienced navigator to act as a guide.

For those who love a bit of thrill, however, the "overland" route offers surprising scenery and a wonderful adventure in the heart of nature. From Tulcea you take the ferry, then the remaining 66 km to Chilia Veche run mostly along gravel roads.

What to see in Chilia

The youngest of the Delta's branches stretches almost 120 km along the border with Ukraine and carries the greatest flow of water (nearly 60%) of the three channels. Its banks shelter a few scattered villages — Pătlăgeanca, Ceatalchioi, Pardina, Tatanir — as well as Chilia Veche, a settlement with a history almost as long as that of ancient Dacia. Although in the time of Herodotus Chilia Veche was a port on the Black Sea, silting means that today it lies more than 40 km from the sea.

You must visit the "Holy Voivodes" church, built in the 19th century. At 52 metres tall, it is the second-highest place of worship in Romania, surpassed only by the Black Church in Brașov. During the Second World War it served as a military observation post and still bears the marks of the fighting it went through.

Lake Roșca is a strictly protected nature reserve that hosts the largest colony of white pelicans in all of Europe. Among the birds that can be observed here are wild geese, egrets and the ever-present storks.

Periprava is the last stronghold of exploration available to tourists navigating the Chilia branch. To the south lies Letea Forest, famous for its herds of wild horses and for trees more than 500 years old. While the forest is a refuge for rich fauna, the surrounding sand dunes are home to turtles and various lizards.