Suta de Movile

Suta de Movile is one of the most unusual and most enigmatic natural monuments of the Republic of Moldova, situated in Rîșcani district, between the villages of Braniște and Cobani, in the floodplain of the river Prut. Over an area of more than a thousand hectares stretch thousands of mounds and earthen hillocks, a landscape unique in Europe, protected as a geological and geomorphological monument.

The landscape of the mounds

Although the name evokes "a hundred", there are in fact more than 3,500 mounds here, predominantly elongated, with steep slopes and heights varying from one to three metres up to almost thirty metres. They extend over a length of some eight kilometres and a width of up to two kilometres, on the terraces of the Prut valley, at altitudes between 50 and 170 metres. Seen from above, the ensemble resembles a rough sea, frozen in earth. Among the mounds are numerous springs and wetlands, which add charm and diversity to the place, the whole protected area extending over more than a thousand hectares.

Hypotheses about their origin

The origin of the mounds has stirred long debate among researchers. The most widespread theory attributes them to a submarine coral reef, laid down on the bed of a tropical sea that covered the region millions of years ago. Another hypothesis explains them through landslides and ground collapses, while a popular legend considers them graves raised over soldiers fallen in ancient battles — hence the name.

Flora and fauna

The mounds and the valleys between them are covered with clumps of oak scrub and steppe vegetation, with species adapted to thin, sunny soils, some of them rare and protected. The place borders the range of the Pădurea Domnească reserve, with which it forms a valuable natural ensemble of the Prut floodplain. The beauty and uniqueness of the landscape have led to Suta de Movile being represented even on a Moldovan postage stamp issue.

Getting there

Suta de Movile is reachable from the villages of Braniște and Cobani, near Glodeni and Rîșcani. The broken terrain calls for comfortable footwear, and from the top of the higher mounds open broad views over the Prut floodplain. The place is suited to hiking and to exploring the nature of northern Moldova.