Hagieni Forest Nature Reserve

Hagieni Forest is a zoo-botanical nature reserve located in the south-eastern part of the Podișul Dobrogei de Sud, near the village of Hagieni, on the administrative territories of the communes of Albești and Limanu, approximately 10 km from the municipality of Mangalia, Constanța County. It covers an area of approximately 395 hectares of core reserve, with a buffer protection zone of 190.8 hectares, and was declared a protected area in 1970. The substrate consists of limestone and Quaternary loess, on which a carbonatic chernozem soil has formed, at altitudes ranging between 20 and 70 m. The vegetation is of sub-Mediterranean type, dominated by downy oak, grey oak and Balkan oak, alongside hornbeam, smoke tree, flowering ash and Prunus mahaleb. The reserve's geographical position, at the intersection of migration routes of the Pontic, Balkan, Mediterranean, Central European and Aralo-Caspian floras, has produced an exceptional floristic mix of 841 plant species, among which the steppe peony and the Dobrogean peony are strictly protected species. The fauna includes the Dobrogean tortoise, the Dobrogean horned viper, the Caspian whipsnake, the ocellated lizard and the steppe lizard. A rare detail: in 1964, wall lizards with spotted bellies were experimentally introduced into the reserve, having been brought from Ada-Kaleh island — an island subsequently submerged by the waters of the Porțile de Fier dam in 1970. Among the protected mammals, the Dobrogean ground squirrel and the steppe polecat are notable. Visitors can follow two marked trails: towards the Pănoiu area and towards the Cazane area, where three deep circular depressions form a distinctive landscape, with a lake in their interior. Entry to the reserve is free of charge, and vehicle access is not permitted. The reserve is included in the Natura 2000 site ROSCI0157 Pădurea Hagieni–Cotul Văii.