Buila-Vânturarița National Park

The Buila-Vânturarița National Park (Romanian: Parcul Național Buila-Vânturarița) (national park category II IUCN) is a protected area situated in Romania, in the central-northern part of Vâlcea County, in the administrative territory of the localities Costești, Bărbătești, and Băile Olănești.^[3]

Buila-Vânturarița National Park
Parcul Național Buila-Vânturarița
IUCN category II (national park)
The Buila Massif
Location within Romania
Location	Vâlcea County  Romania
Nearest city	Băile Olănești
Coordinates	45.240°N 24.096°E / 45.240; 24.096[1]
Area	4,186 hectares (10,340 acres)
Established	2005
Website	www.buila.ro

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, a subgroup of mountains in the Southern Carpathians.

Description

Buila-Vânturarița with an area of 4,186 ha (10,340 acres)^[4] was declared natural protected area by the Government Decision No 2151 in 2004 (published in Romanian Official Paper No 38 on January 12, 2005)^[5] and represents a mountainous area with flora and fauna 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

Leontopodium alpinum

Woody plants consist of: English oak (Quercus robur), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), pine (Pinus), Norway spruce (Picea abies), fir (Abies), European yew (Taxus baccata), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), linden (Tilia), birch (Betula) and species of shrubs: mountain pine (Pinus mugo), savin (Juniperus sabina) or common juniper (Juniperus communis).

Herbs:^[6] Edelweiss^[7] (Leontopodium alpinum), lady's slipper (Cypripedium calceolus),^[8] mountain bellflower (Campanula alpina), yellow monkshood (Aconitum anthora), belladonna (Atropa belladonna), ligularia (Ligularia sibirica), rustyback (Asplenium ceterach), yellow anemone (Anemone ranunculoides), globe-flower (Trollius europaeus), windflower (Anemone nemorosa), martagon (Lilium martagon), centaurea (Centaurea atropurpurea), daphne (Daphne mezereum)^[9]

Fauna

Gray wolf (Canis lupus)

Species of mammals: deer (Cervus epaphus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), lynx (Lynx lynx), pine marten (Martes martes), squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), badger (Meles meles), barbastelle (Barrbastella barbastellus), lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis blythii), brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus);

Species of birds: western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), white-crowned wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga), red kite (Milvus milvus), red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), white wagtail (Motacilla alba), European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), rock bunting (Emberiza cia), lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina), wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), hoopoe (Upupa epops),

Reptiles, amphibians and frogs: green lizard (Lacerta viridis), common European adder (Vipera berus), smooth snake (Coronella austriaca), fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), alpine newt (Triturus alpestris), common toad (Bufo bufo), yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) or common frog (Rana temporaria).^[10]

Access

• European route E81 București – Corbii Mari – Piteşti – Morărești – Râmnicu Vâlcea – national road DN64 – Vlăduceni – Valea Cheii – county road DJ654 – Cheia
• National road (DN7) Sibiu – Tălmaciu – Câinenii Mari – Călinești – national road DN7A – Brezoi – Brădișor Lake.

Gallery

• 
  summit ridge
• 
  summit ridge way
• 
  Vânturariţa Mare Peak (1885m)
• 
  mountain pass Curmătura Builei
• 
• 
  globe-flower
• 
  Rupicapra rupicapra
• 
  Milvus milvus

See also

• Cozia National Park
• Protected areas of Romania

References

1. eunis.eea.europa.eu – Buila-Vânturariţa, Vâlcea County (longitude & latitude); retrieved on June 03, 2012
2. eunis.eea.europa.eu – Buila-Vânturariţa, Vâlcea County (longitude & latitude); retrieved on June 03, 2012
3. protectedplanet.net – Buila-Vînturariţa National Park – location^{[permanent dead link]}; retrieved on June 03, 2012
4. (in Romanian) apmvl.anpm.ro – Regional Environmental Protection Agenty Vâlcea; retrieved on June 03, 2012
5. (in Romanian) muntiimaramuresului.ro – Government Decision No 2151 in 2004 Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved on June 03, 2012
6. (in Romanian)spontana.robustit.com – Specii din flora spontană a României Archived 2012-06-06 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved on June 04, 2012
7. Leontopodium alpinum (Romanian: Floare de colţ) is a protected species in Romania since 1933
8. Cypripedium calceolus in Romanian: Papucul doamnei
9. Daphne mezereum in Romanian: Tulichină
10. (in Romanian) enrin.grida.no – Flota and fauna of Romania Archived 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved on June 04, 2012

External links

• (in French, English, Italian, and Romanian) Buila-Vânturarița Natural Park