Europe's new wilderness reserve

Good evening. When we think of vast, untamed wilderness, we tend to cast our minds to far-flung corners of the globe – the Amazon, Alaska, Patagonia, Siberia, perhaps. Few of us would include Romania’s Făgăraș mountains in this list, but this densely forested corner of Transylvania, is one of Europe’s last truly wild places. Romania has more than 6m hectares of forest, of which a significant portion is still “virgin”, unfragmented areas with no human settlement, where bears, wolves and lynx still roam free. But like the rainforest of Brazil, this one faces an existential threat; illegal logging has cleared vast swathes of trees, and the destruction continues. There is, however, a glimmer of hope. The Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC) is at the forefront of an ambitious plan to create the continent’s largest forested national park – a Yellowstone for Europe. Funds have been raised to purchase thousands of hectares of threatened land, to plant new trees and to create a wilderness reserve that will not only protect the wildlife, but will support local communities with ecotourism and employment opportunities. The Guardian’s deputy head of travel, Jane Dunford, went to visit the project, staying in remote hides and campsites, and discovered a “thrilling” landscape that “seems to pulsate with energy. I’m torn between desperately hoping to see a bear close up and praying we won’t.” The chance of memorable wildlife encounters is just one of the many benefits of travelling to a project like this. If successful, it could also help to ensure the survival of one of Europe’s last remaining wildernesses.