I'd lie by saying that I wasn't missing my reconnection with Danube, as in fact I've seen plenty of places in and around Romania, only by judging the number of this travel post. But what I'm trying to say is that, no matter how many places you see in Romania, the Danube will always stay in my top 3 preferences, whether it comes as a 12-hour-long boat ride on the Danube Delta in Tulcea, or by simply making it on any of the sides that offer you a view towards the 2nd largest river in Europe.
Happily, today's post is about one of these experiences, because during my spontaneous trip to the southern side of Romania, I also ended up in Islaz, which is one of the most important villages in Romania, especially when it comes to the history that was written on this land.
But leaving history on the side for now, Islaz is even more than that, where if you are from Bulgaria, then you will know what the name suggests. But if you are not, then keep in mind that the name of the village was meant to suggest an uncultivated area, quite wild, and mostly covered with grass that was the best place for many animals that go grazing.
And speaking of Bulgaria, do note that even if the place I'll present in today's post is geographically located on the territory of Romania, the whole view you can see across the water is nothing else but Bulgaria.
Anyways, before making it to that view, you will need to drive for about 5 minutes on an unpaved path that can take you either to the forest or to the beach, depending on what your wishes are. But either way, there is also a special place arranged for people looking to enjoy a grill with a scenic landscape in the background.
Although I judge quite harshly when I see human intervention in natural areas, it's becoming more and more common to see this kind of specially arranged places for BBQ, which are so needed if you ask me. Why? Because there's always at least one guy who decides to start a fire on the ground without properly assuming the consequences, or those who always leave trash behind them just because they couldn't find a trash bin where to leave their empty packaging after they finished eating.
This is still a brand new feature for the beach, so there weren't any people around other than the fishermen that you will see in the upcoming pictures, or some noisy partygoers that were in the forest from behind, but I'd love to return here one day for a proper experience other than just staring at the water for a couple of minutes.
The name of the beach I made it to is called Plaja Gura Oltului, which would translate into English as The mouth of the Olt River Beach, and it's very much suggestive of what this place is known for.
Even if it is hard to mark off from the shore where the Olt River ends and where the Danube River begins, one thing is certain. There is no other place like this one in Romania, making it a really special and unique location since Olt is the longest river flowing entirely within Romania, which is spanning 615 km and only meeting the Danube in this place.
And if all these is not enough to convince you that this place is fully worth to be visited by anyone roaming through Romania, do note that this beach is also known as having one of the finest sands in Romania, with many occassions along the year when random islands are being spotted in the distance when the water level decreases, turning the islands into homes for dozens of species of birds, making the landscape even more wild and interesting.
When it comes to fishermen, although the shore was already full of them, the waters did enjoy being accompanied by some braver ones who started the season by riding the boats here and there and stopped occasionally to try their luck for some bigger catches.
The fish that live within the Danube and Olt rivers are zander, wels catfish, northern pike, asp, European perch, more species of carp, common bream, common rudd, common roach, sturgeon and Pontic shad.
I don't know much about these species, but some of them are very familiar, as I remember going with my father in search of some of these fish as a kid. Hence, next visit to this beach will surely be accompanied by my dad and will be a lot more fun than admiring everything from the shore.
Still linked to the Gura Oltului Beach, there are two separate forests, one on the left which is where the noisy partygoers were and where I decided not to go because I didn't want to bother them with my curiosity, and a way larger one on the right of the shore which also comes with camping spots and some benches placed here and there for a closer reconnection with nature without getting the sun kiss as much as I did while sitting on the sand. Nevertheless, I returned with some incredible sunburns even from the start of June. Wondering how far I can go by the end of the season, lol.
Islaz is just 10 km away from Turnu Magurele on the way to Corabia, and it only takes 10 minutes to reach it by car from the center of the village, being located 3,5 km away. Along with the fishing and grill activities, you can always enjoy camping, birdwatching, tanning, or even swimming if you are a fan of it. But keep in mind that the depth of the water is quite deep on this side of the shore, and it's not recommended to do it.
Gabriela Travels is a Curator for Worldmappin and Hive Gaming communities, but also the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (350+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game and book reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 850+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.
~ @GabrielaTravels ~
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 43.71152 lat 24.79329 long Unique location in Romania where Olt River meets Danube d3scr))
