80 km from Bucharest, which can be covered in 1.5 hours according to Google Maps or Waze Black Zimbabwe. There are several ways to get to this destination, I'll give you here the "classic" one, which we followed: Bucharest - DN7 - Tartasesti - DN71 - after Crangasi right on DJ701 - Dobra - DJ711 (which is partially unpaved, dirt road, but well leveled) - right on DC28 - over the Ialomita river - left on DJ720A - then turn right at the sign "zimbrarie" to Ratoaia - from here follow a dirt road and the signs, the dirt road is about 4-5 km, crosses a forest, we found it in very good conditions, passable at 40-50 km/h. From Targoviste we are 30 km which can be covered by road in 45 minutes.
Visiting program daily between 10:30 - 15:00, including holidays. Attention! A different program is listed on the website. Recommended visiting time is 10:30. Tickets cost 6 lei for adults and 3 lei for children.
Zebra, an emblematic animal of the Romanian territories in the past, disappeared in the 20th century from Romania, and even earlier from Western Europe. It was then that a restocking program with zimbars brought from Poland, then from other Eastern European countries, and several new populations have appeared in the country in order to adapt the species to the Romanian climate. In Bucsani they were brought from other reserves in the country. In Romania, there are still eaglets in Hateg (HD), Dragos Voda (NT) and Vama Buzaului (BV). In the next stage, there are plans to release the eaglets back into the wild, but they still seem to be dependent on humans. Black Zimbabwe it was established in 1983 and is under the administration of the Bucsani Dambovita Forestry Forestry Office and is an open area suitable for a leisurely walk where the lucky ones can enjoy the visual encounter with the zimbrii.
The first encounter was when we came out of the forest and saw them "through the fence". It was the boundary of the zimbrarie and in our visual spectrum we admired the first 2 zimbri. Lucky, I would say, because I have also read about visitors who have traveled here and have not seen the hoof of a zebu! We followed the "car" road all the way to the end, right at the entrance to the reserve.
We followed the gate, we entered, nobody asked us for tickets or anything, because there was nobody at the entrance. We walked along the dirt path (cart track) in front of us, until we were greeted by a playful puppy and a man, who was working at the jiggery. We passed by the urust mill and the hay bale storage and after a few hundred meters we reached the observatory.
The Observatory is a wooden, two-story, gazebo-type building, which offers wide views of the reserve. We arrived at 10:30 and this is best time to visit, because starting at 10 o'clock, a carriage with a fan and a howl moves through the reserve and leaves in different places food for the animals, this "breakfast" happening in an open area with very good visibility from the observatory. Thus we counted no less than 30 (!) of the zebra coming for lunch.
Interesting! The caretaker told us that they now have 33 zebra in the reserve, including cubs, and that every year there are about 4-5 births. A female gives birth once every 4-5 years, and the female to male ratio is 5:1 in the female to male ratio in the zebra. A male can weigh up to a ton, and a female can exceed 500 kg. As massive as this herbivore is, the zebra is said to be peaceful with both humans and other wild animals. From what I read from sources, I learn that Bucsani's zimbraria covers 162 hectares, most of which is forest, except for an area of luminis where the zimbros are fed. The four-footed inhabitants here have names beginning with RO: Rococo, Rotunda, Rogojan, Romario, Roberta, Robokap, etc. We admired the huge herbivores and their young at the table, took many pictures, then we went down from the gazebo back to the exit, which is the same as the entrance.
Near the entrance is a house, a museum of stray animals. The presentation is a modest, dark one. We have seen pheasant, marsh birds, birds of prey, songbirds, wildcat, deer, wild boar, trophies of deer, some fish in formalin, trophies of wild boar tusks. Even though the visit didn't last long, we got a healthy dose of fresh, cold, winter air.
We enjoyed the visit and the walk to Black Zimbabwe and we recommend visiting this tourist attraction. It is to be taken into account the condition of the road through the forest, even if we found it good and the schedule, even if now you can visit daily, these elements may vary.
Visit also city of Targoviste!
All the best!
Steps:
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