# Letea Forest

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Dobruja](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/dobrogea) › [Tulcea County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/tulcea) › [Letea](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/letea)

> One of Romania's first nature reserves, protected since 1938: ancient oaks draped in lianas, sand dunes and herds of feral horses on the Letea sand bank in the north of the Danube Delta.

[UNESCO World Heritage](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unesco-heritage)

**At a glance:** National parks and reserves in Letea, Tulcea County. The visit takes 2½ – 3 hours. Information verified on 21 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** The 2019 visiting regulations set visiting hours at 10:00–18:00; no updated schedule is published online. Organised trips to Letea usually run from April to September–October and should be booked in advance with operators in Tulcea or guesthouses in the delta.
- **Ticket:** ARBDD permit + visiting fee
- **Visit duration:** 2½ – 3 hours — not counting the boat trip
- **With kids:** Yes — long boat trip
- **Parking:** No — the car stays in Tulcea
- **Best season:** May – October — spring and autumn
- **Address:** Dune area, next to the DC3 local road between C.A. Rosetti and Periprava; tours start from the village of Letea, Letea, Tulcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.35684, 29.53973
- **Phone:** +40 240 518 924
- **Website:** https://ddbra.ro/padurea-letea-loc-unic-in-europa/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letea_Forest
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6533204
- **Categories:** [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcuri-nationale-si-rezervatii)

## About Letea Forest

Letea Forest grows on the Letea sand bank, a strip of sand about 14 km long between the Chilia and Sulina arms in the north of the Danube Delta, north of the village of Letea in the commune of C.A. Rosetti. A first core of about 500 ha, Hasmacul Mare, was declared a nature reserve in 1938 at the urging of Romanian naturalists. Today it is a strictly protected zone of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991: the protected area covers about 5,250 ha, of which 2,825 ha are strictly protected.

The forest is not one continuous woodland but a string of tree groves, called hasmacuri, growing in the damp hollows between the dunes: pedunculate and grey oak, ash, white and grey poplar, black alder. Lianas climb the trunks, ivy, wild vine, hop, old man's beard and above all Periploca graeca, a Mediterranean plant at the northern limit of its range here, giving the forest a subtropical look. Between the groves stretch sand dunes up to 12 m high and salty meadows.

The reserve is home to more than 120 bird species, including the white-tailed eagle, and rare reptiles such as the meadow viper. The most visible residents, though, are the feral horses, descendants of domestic horses turned loose by the villagers: hundreds of animals graze on the meadows along the forest edge. To protect the saplings, the strict zone was fenced in 2013–2014.

### What you can see

Visits are allowed only on three routes set in 2019 by the Reserve Administration together with the Forestry Directorate: one in the west of the forest, by horse-drawn cart only; the second by vehicle to the buffer zone and then 900 m on foot, along the edge of the strictly protected zone; the third a 500 m path through the dune area, with views over the sands. Tours start from the village of Letea, in the villagers' carts or in minibuses adapted for sand.

On the way you pass groves of ancient oaks, several centuries old, with thick trunks and lianas hanging from the crowns, meadows where herds of horses graze and, with luck, white-tailed eagles and European rollers. At the end, beyond a gate with a reed-thatched shelter, you reach the fenced dune area, with fine white sand and groves of trees around the edges.

### Good to know

Letea is a strictly protected zone: you may enter only on the approved routes and only with a certified guide; the rest of the forest is closed to visitors. The village of Letea cannot be reached by road, only by water, usually on an organised day trip from Tulcea, Crișan, Mila 23 or Sulina. There are no toilets or bins in the reserve; in summer the sand gets very hot and mosquitoes are plentiful.

## Don't miss

- The ancient oaks on the sand bank, with thick trunks and Periploca graeca lianas hanging from their crowns.
- The herds of feral horses grazing on the meadows along the forest edge.
- The white sand dunes of the fenced area, up to 12 m high, with groves of trees around the edges.
- The ride in a villager's cart from Letea village, on the route through the west of the forest.
- White-tailed eagles, European rollers and hoopoes, among the more than 120 bird species of the reserve.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** you cannot drive your own car to the forest. Drive to Tulcea, ~290 km from Bucharest (A2 motorway to Cernavodă, then DN22 via Hârșova, ~4 hours) or ~125 km from Constanța (DN22, ~2 hours); the car stays in town and the journey continues by water. From the village of Letea, tours go with the villagers along the DC4 to C.A. Rosetti and then north on the DC3, ~10 km to the dune area; from Periprava, on the Chilia arm, it is ~6 km south on the same road.

**Public transport:** train or coach to Tulcea, then a day trip by fast boat (Tulcea – Mila 23 – Letea, sometimes also Sulina, ~9–11 hours in all) or the boats of guesthouses in Crișan, Mila 23 and Sulina, which moor at the jetty in Letea village. The Navrom Delta ship on the Tulcea – Periprava line runs along the Chilia arm; from Periprava, the villagers provide transport to the dunes.

### Where to park

Letea village and the forest cannot be reached by car from outside the delta. Leave the car in Tulcea, in the guarded car parks at Port Tulcea Aval or along the embankment, where the boats leave from.

### Fees & discounts

The ARBDD access permit, compulsory throughout the reserve: 5 lei a day, 15 lei for 7 days, 30 lei until the end of the year; free for pupils, students, pensioners, people with disabilities and locals. Buy it at permise.ddbra.ro. At the forest entrance there is also a visiting fee set by the Tulcea Forestry Directorate, 5 lei when it was introduced in 2019; the current rate is not published online. The boat trip from Tulcea and the cart or minibus ride from the village are paid separately, to the operators.

### Rules

The forest is a strictly protected zone: it is visited only on the three approved routes and only with a certified guide. Do not leave the path, pick plants, light fires or smoke. Do not approach or feed the horses; they are feral and can kick. Take your rubbish back with you, as there are no bins in the reserve. Drones need a separate ARBDD permit. Bring water, a hat, closed shoes and mosquito repellent.

### Facilities

No toilets, bins or shops in the reserve · reed-thatched shelter at the entrance to the dune area · guesthouses, fish meals and a jetty in Letea village · weak mobile signal · no step-free access (sand, carts, boats)

## Details

- **Protected area type:** strict nature reserve
- **Part of:** Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve

## Frequently asked questions about Letea Forest

**How long does a visit to Letea Forest take?**

A visit to Letea Forest takes about 2½ – 3 hours (not counting the boat trip).

**Can you visit Letea Forest with kids?**

Yes, Letea Forest is suitable for children (long boat trip).

**Where can I park at Letea Forest?**

Letea Forest has no parking of its own (the car stays in Tulcea). Letea village and the forest cannot be reached by car from outside the delta. Leave the car in Tulcea, in the guarded car parks at Port Tulcea Aval or along the embankment, where the boats leave from.

**How do I get to Letea Forest?**

Letea Forest is located at Dune area, next to the DC3 local road between C.A. Rosetti and Periprava; tours start from the village of Letea, Letea, Tulcea County. By car: you cannot drive your own car to the forest. Drive to Tulcea, ~290 km from Bucharest (A2 motorway to Cernavodă, then DN22 via Hârșova, ~4 hours) or ~125 km from Constanța (DN22, ~2 hours); the car stays in town and the journey continues by water. From the village of Letea, tours go with the villagers along the DC4 to C.A. Rosetti and then north on the DC3, ~10 km to the dune area; from Periprava, on the Chilia arm, it is ~6 km south on the same road. Public transport: train or coach to Tulcea, then a day trip by fast boat (Tulcea – Mila 23 – Letea, sometimes also Sulina, ~9–11 hours in all) or the boats of guesthouses in Crișan, Mila 23 and Sulina, which moor at the jetty in Letea village. The Navrom Delta ship on the Tulcea – Periprava line runs along the Chilia arm; from Periprava, the villagers provide transport to the dunes.

**When is the best time to visit Letea Forest?**

The best season for Letea Forest: May – October (spring and autumn).

## Nearby attractions

- [Old Lighthouse of Sulina](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/farul-vechi-sulina) — Museums and memorial houses · Sulina, TL · 20 lei · 45 min · 32 km
  The white tower of the European Commission of the Danube in the middle of Sulina, now a museum about the town called “Europolis”, the writer Jean Bart and the conductor George Georgescu.
- [Sulina Beach](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/plaja-sulina) — Seaside · Sulina, TL · 5 lei · 3½ – 4 hours · 34 km
  Romania's easternmost beach, where the Sulina branch meets the Black Sea: very fine alluvial sand, an unusually wide strip and water that stays shallow for tens of metres.
- [Mila 23](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/mila-23) — Villages and traditions · Mila 23, TL · 5 lei/day · 2½ – 3 hours · 35 km
  A Lipovan fishing village in the heart of the Danube Delta, on the Old Danube, reachable only by boat; the birthplace of Ivan Patzaichin, with a museum tower dedicated to the champion.
- [Caraorman Forest](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/padurea-caraorman) — National parks and reserves · Caraorman, TL · 5 lei/day · 3½ – 4 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · 48 km
  A strict nature reserve in the heart of the Danube Delta: oaks more than 400 years old, including the Kneeling Oak, and the highest sand dunes in the delta, on the Caraorman sand bank.
- [Halmyris Fortress](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetatea-halmyris) — Fortresses and fortifications · Murighiol, TL · 12 lei · ½ – 1 hours · 59 km
  The ruins of a Roman and early Byzantine fortress near Murighiol, a Danube fleet station and bishop's seat, where the crypt of the martyrs Epictetus and Astion was found.
- [Sfântu Gheorghe Beach](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/plaja-sfantu-gheorghe) — Seaside · Sfântu Gheorghe, TL · 5 lei · 4½ – 5 hours · 68 km
  The wild beach where the Sfântu Gheorghe branch meets the Black Sea: 30 km of fine sand, 2 km from a Delta village that can only be reached by water.

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Last updated: 21 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania