Vylkove is a unique and cozy town on the banks of the Danube river in the south-west of Ukraine.
This town is a gem of the lower Danube river located close to Ukrainian-Romanian border at the picturesque junction of the Black Sea and the Danube.
The Danube breaks into several branches that forms crossroads in the area. The migrants and runaway Cossacks who first settled in the area named the town Vylkove, which derives from “vilka” or fork in Russian.
Tourists can see a lot of unique boats (Ukrainian version of gondolas) much more often than cars due to the number of canals cutting through its territory. The town consists of picturesque artificial islands formed from silt and clay surrounded by incredibly beautiful bays and creeks.
Vylkove is famous for its vineyards and cultivation of strawberries on the islands.
A unique sort of grapes grows here – the novak – from which the delicious Novak wine is made.
The Danube delta is the ecological heart of Eastern Europe and one of the largest wetlands with water channels, reedbeds, numerous lakes, meadows, marshes, flooded forests, sands, and remnants of the steppes. The 2,860 kilometers-long Danube has the second longest river basin area in Europe.
Danube Biosphere Reserve occupies almost 50,000 hectares. It is considered to be the biggest swampland reserve in Europe! The richness of the flora and fauna of the Danube delta makes it a unique place in Europe.
Part of reserve is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The territory of the Biosphere Reserve includes the islands along the Danube, reedbeds to the north from the river, delta water bodies and areas bordering the sea (2 km from the coast).
There are hundreds of species of rare plants, exotic animals and fish. Many of them are in Ukraine’s endangered species list. The main inhabitants of the reserve are birds. You may see European white pelicans, white-tailed sea eagles and geese here that enjoy a unique nature of the area.
The Danube delta is home to over 40 species of mammals, 100 kinds of fish and a lot of reptiles and insects. It also boasts a rich and diverse flora with over 1,500 plants.
The so-called ‘zero kilometer’ where the Danube river flows into the Black Sea is located on the biosphere reserve territory too.
