5. The Retezat National Park was founded in 1935, at the initiative of the great Romanian naturalist Alexandru Borza. The park stretches over an area of 38,138 ha.
In the natural parks of Mountainous Banat there are flowers and plants that are unique in this area regarding their beauty and colour: the Banat Black Pine, the Banat daisy, the Banat Peony, the Semenic Flower, the Edelweiss, the Daffodils from Zervesti, the Dognecea Water Lily , The Beuşniţabrier, the Sicheviţaglobeflower, the Banat maple tree, the tulip of the Cauldrons, the Turkish Hazel, the Turkish Cherry, the White Ivy, the Yellow crocus, the Black hawthorn, auricula, the lady’s slipper orchid and nigritella.
The secular trees – Sequoia Gigantea, Tisa, Magnolia, Pagodela and the Sycamore trees – complete the spectacular and greatness of the Banat vegetation. They are real monuments of nature in the National Parks of Mountainous Banat, which can be of special interest in cultural – scientific tourism.
Through its variety, richness and originality, the fauna is not less interesting than the flora. Life pulsates everywhere in the Mountainous Banat through thousands of species of animals, birds and fishes. You can frequently encounter wild animals such as wolf, fox, boar, forest marten, squirrel, rabbit, deer, roebuck and pheasant.
A special place is occupied by the reptiles, some of which are endangered species. We refer to the horned viper, found in the limestone regions of the Danube Gorges, the Caraș Gorges, the Nera Gorges, the Minis Gorges and the Cerna Valley, and the scorpion from the Cerna Valley and the Nera Gorges areas.
All the rivers of the mountains are rich in various species of fishes, such as the native trout, the rainbow trout, the European bullhead, the grayling and the beluga. The rivers of the plains are rich in chub, common nase and plain barbell. In the Danube waters you can find: catfish, walleye, carp, pike, starlet,sturgeon, sevruga and beluga.
“… Exquisite charm. This is the word that fits the landscape of Caras and you never … experience the nostalgia of leaving. You are constantly feeling the presence of man … who is organically integrated into Nature. “– as Virgil Birou [1982 Virgil Bureau] suggestively stated, who, together with the prose writer Ion StoiaUdrea and the sculptor RomulLadea, form what is called “The Caraș Clover” of the culture people from Mountainous Banat.