Veleka protected area
Address:
reka Veleka, Bulgaria, Veleka, Burgas Region, Bulgaria
Description:
- Covers a large area of 1546.3 ha of land around the villages of Zvezdets, Brashlyan and Stoilovo.
- It was declared as a protected area in order to preserve the old oak – beech forests and the picturesque canyon of the Veleka River.
- Covers the middle course of the Veleka River, where it passes through a karst area and forms many meanders.
- In the centuries-old virgin forests and rocky slopes many birds find refuge, such as the bald eagle, which nests in trees only in Strandzha the territory of Bulgaria.
- There are also black storks, Egyptian vultures and many mammals. The Veleka River is home to one of Europe’s best-preserved otter populations.
- PROTECTED AREA “KRIVINIZOVO” (109.1 ha). It was declared as a protected area in 1991 in order to protect natural forest communities from hornbeam, sessile oak, eastern beech with undergrowth of Strandzha periwinkle and Strandzha blueberry, as well as habitats of rare and endangered plant and animal species, such as the Egyptian vulture. It occupies part of the southern slopes of the Veleka river valley.
- MORYANE PROTECTED AREA (102.7 ha). It is located on the rocky right bank of the Veleka River, about 4 km southwest of the village of Zvezdets. A typical ornithological site. Many rare species of birds nest here. For this purpose it is placed under protection – preservation of the natural habitats of protected and rare bird species, included in the Red Book of the Republic of Bulgaria and in the list of endangered species in Europe.
Infrastructure
Bulgaria