Golden Sands Nature Park

Golden Sands Nature Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
View of the park with the Golden Sands resort and the Black Sea.
Location	Varna Municipality, Varna Province, Bulgaria
Nearest city	Varna
Coordinates	43°17′N 28°02′E / 43.283°N 28.033°E / 43.283; 28.033Coordinates: 43°17′N 28°02′E / 43.283°N 28.033°E / 43.283; 28.033
Area	13.2 km2 (5.1 sq mi)
Established	1943

Golden Sands Nature Park (Bulgarian: Природен парк "Златни пясъци") is a national park on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in Varna Province. It is spread on an area of 13.2 square kilometres (5.1 sq mi). The park is 9.2 km (5.7 mi) long and on the average 1.2 km (0.75 mi) wide; it was declared a protected territory in 1943 (under the name Hachuka State Forest). According to the criteria of the World Conservation Union, it ranks fifth category on the list of protected territories.

It is covered with natural deciduous forests consisting of various types of oak species including moss-capped oak, Hungarian oak, swamp white oak, and hornbeam. The indigenous vegetation of the park, unlike forests with the predominance of oaks, also includes ecosystems of dense forest type.

Oaks and the accompanying silver leafed lime, manna ash, yoke elm, and field maple occupy the hilly area in the centre of the park. These forests include almost all tree species typical for the local lower forest layer (up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level) and some of them (limes, elms) are over 100 years old. A two-hundred-year-old sycamore with circumference of the trunk 4 m (13 ft) is among the landmarks of the park. Among the rich variety of grassy species most typical are the common mullein, toad flax, and ribwort.

Dense forest ecosystems occupy a smaller and wetter area in the southeast. These are deciduous tree species (Caucasian ash, moss-capped oak, yoke elm, white poplar, Mahaleb cherry) covered with climbing plants: old man’s beard, wild vines, ivy, hop, and silk vine. These forests are surprisingly similar to tropical forests. Grasses include wood horsetail, oriental iris, wild orchids, and cuckoo pint.