The Nature Park Rusenski Lom is situated in northeastern of Bulgaria, 20 km to the south of the town of Rousse. In the Glacial Period, the 2 500 m thick limestone layers were slowly uplifted and forced the river to cut its bed up to 100 m into the rock. The outcome is a remarkably beautiful meandering gully.
The area was pronounced a National Park in 1970. It covers 3 200 hectares of land along the picturesque valley of the Rusenski Lom, the last right feeder of the Danube.
The vegetation is exuberant and fascinating. The forest consist of mid-European species mainly. It is formed of about 60 kinds of trees and shrubs. In the inner sides of the curves one can find Dwarf Almond, Almond-leafed Pear, Christ Thorn, Mahaleb Cherry, Manna (Flowering) Ash, Turkey Oak, Common Lilac, Sumac.
Among the herbaceous species (about 1000), there is an unusual number of southern representatives - Stipa joannis, Steppe Feather Grass, Dwarf Iris, Paronychia capitata, a member of the Pink family and many others.
The wild life is endless in the diversity of invertebrates. Scolopendras and Carpathian Scorpions live under the stones. Especially impressive are species like Oryctes nasicornis, Lucanus cervus, Cerambyx cerdo and Yellow-headed Scolia. 22 species of fish live in the river. The valley is populated by 9 species of amphibians, 3 species of turtles, 9 species of lizards and 7 species of snakes. The biggest treasure of the Park are the birds. Over 190 species have been registered to dwell in the valley, about 110 of them breeding there. Most interesting are the rock dwellers. Among them are many birds registered as endangered species in Europe, like the Egyptian vulture, the Golden Eagle, the Short-toed Eagle, the Lesser Kestrel, the Ruddy Shelduck, the Great Eagle Owl, the Long-legged Buzzard, the Red-rumped Swallow, the Crag Martin, the Spanish Sparrow. While in mid-Europe the Black Stork builds nests in the trees, in Bulgaria its nests are mainly in rock niches. The Lesser Spotted Eagle, the rare Imperial Eagle, the Black woodpecker, the Towny owl, the Nightjar and many others breed in the forests and the Corncrake in the meadows. Out of the total number of 92 mammals reported in Bulgaria, 62 have been counted in the valley.
The biggest is the number of bats - 22 species, all the 5 Horseshoe bats to be found in Europe among them and rodents - 20 species, among which are the Ground Squirrel, the wild living Steppe mouse, the Harvest mouse, the Lesser mole rat. The Polecats - weasel, steppe and Marbled polecat and otter, best represent the predators. The forests are also inhabited by wild cats, wolves, jackals and by all kinds of ungulates.
Traces of human activities of primeval times have been found there, but the remnants of antiquity and of the Bulgarian medieval are appreciated as the heritage of greatest value. The ruins of the medieval castle of Cherven (XIII - XIV century) with one of the few intact turrets in Bulgaria are situated within the park. Great number of hermits and monks settled in the valley in the Late Middle Ages - XII - XIV century and adapted some of the caves into dwelling. There were individual cells as well as whole monasteries some of which exist as historical sights. The mural paintings in the rock churches near Ivanovo - an archaeological reserve - represent a summit of Bulgarian medieval art. The churches are one of the nine sites in Bulgaria in the World Cultural and Natural Heritage under the aegis of UNESCO.
