Deliblato Sands

The Deliblato Sands cover around three hundred square kilometres of dune country left by wind-blown sand after the last glaciation, usually described as the largest continental sand area in Europe, and the nickname European Sahara is misleading: most of it was planted with acacia and pine in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to stop the sand moving, so what you see is largely wooded dune with pockets of open sand steppe surviving between. Those open patches hold the real interest, a steppe flora and fauna that is rare elsewhere in Europe, with orchids, ground squirrels, steppe birds and the banat peony. A strict reserve zone protects the core. Walking and cycling tracks cross the area, and the village of Deliblato and the town of Vršac are the bases.

History

Bronze Age remains have been found at Židovar, and in 1789 the Austrian authorities sent the forest engineer Franz Bachofen from Timișoara to report on how to tame the drifting sand, which strong winds were said to carry as far as Vienna and Pest (Wikipedia, Deliblatska Peščara).

What you'll find

• Wooded dunes - rolling sand hills under planted acacia and pine.
• Open sand steppe - the surviving patches with their rare flora.
• Ground squirrels - colonies on the open grassland.
• Steppe flowers - orchids and the banat peony in spring.

When to go

April to June for flowering, especially May; September and October for cooler walking. Summer is hot and dry with little shade in the open sections. The strict reserve core is closed to visitors year round.

Good to know

The name leads people to expect open desert; most of the area is forest and the open sand is limited. Tracks are sandy and hard going on foot or bike. Signage is poor and it is easy to lose orientation. Some zones are closed and entering them is not permitted.

Nearby

Vršac lies northeast; the Danube is south.

Key facts