Bulgaria · Black Sea Coast

Arkutino

Directions

Аркутино

A freshwater marsh-lagoon behind the Black Sea shore, about 2.5 km north-west of the mouth of the Ropotamo river. It belongs to the Ropotamo reserve, one of the best-known protected areas on the Bulgarian coast.

How it formed

The marsh lies between the mouth of the Ropotamo and the Alepu wetlands, behind beaches and dunes, surrounded by flooded forest.

History

The Ropotamo area has been protected since 1940, and the Arkutino marsh and its flooded forest became a botanical reserve in 1962. The Ropotamo complex was listed as a Ramsar wetland in 1975.

Nature

White and yellow water lilies, duckweed, reeds, rushes and bulrushes fill the marsh, and sand lilies bloom on the sandy edges. It is a stopover on the Via Pontica migration route, and swans and other waterfowl use it. The wider complex holds Dalmatian and white pelicans, pygmy cormorants, herons and egrets, with white-tailed eagles and eagle owls in the Ropotamo valley.

Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

Arkutino is on the main coastal road between Sozopol and Primorsko, and can be reached on foot from the Ropotamo area. Primorsko is the nearest town, with rooms also at Dyuni and Sozopol, and buses link them with Burgas, best in summer.

The main attraction nearby is the boat trip on the Ropotamo, from the bridge on the Sozopol–Primorsko road, past water lilies and the rock called the Lion’s Head. Birdwatching is good all year from the shores, and beaches close by are used for swimming in summer.