Strandzha National Park  National Parks Related Topics  Nature  Folklore		Strandzha National Park The latest and the largest of Bulgaria's many national parks, Strandzha is located in the southeast of Bulgaria bordering on the Black Sea, and is famous for its oak and beech forests. The climate allows 50 % of Bulgaria's flora to nourish here, and the park's rivers are home to a wide range of fish, including stickleback and eels. The bird lover is spoilt for choice with many interesting species, among them the Golden, lesser-spotted and white-tailed eagles, the black stork and the honey buzzard. There is also the museum village of Brushlian which is well worth a visit. Not far from the Strandzha Park is the Ropotamo Reserve, bordering both banks of the Ropotamo river, which passes close to the Black Sea dunes. Nowhere else in Bulgaria can you find such densely populated and diverse habitats ranging from islands, cliffs, sandy beaches, bays, dunes, the Arkutino swamp, to forests and meadows, all lying along the last few kilometres of the river before it reaches the sea. The mild climate is ideal for the proliferation of a large variety of plants, and wildlife here again comes into its own with a large variety of predatory and other animals. The Arkutino swamp is also a bird sanctuary and thus a favourite nesting place for numerous birds, and boasts some rare species of cacti. In Bulgaria you are never far from tradition, history and culture, and the Strandzha park is no exception with its historical remains from Tracian times and ancient monasteries. Bulgaria's deeply woven traditions can be witnessed during the age-old tradition of fire-dancing linked with the saints day celebrations of St. Constantine in the village of Balgari. The sight of the white-clad young men and women in trance dancing on red hot embers is an experience never to be forgotten, and also recommended not to be imitated !

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