Description of the attraction
The Preola Lake and the Whirlpools of Tondi Nature Reserve is a valley with several small lakes, covering an area of 335 hectares between the Sicilian towns of Mazara del Vallo and Torretta Granitola. The protected valley stretches for a kilometer parallel to the coast.
Departing from Mazzara, the first lake on the way will be the dried up Lake Murana, then the larger Lake Preola and, finally, three round reservoirs - the so-called Upper, Middle and Lower whirlpools, surrounded by various marsh vegetation and limestone ridges covered with thickets of maquis. The entire territory of the valley is a karst depression, in which, under the influence of rains in the chalk soils, lakes with lushly overgrown shores were formed. Here you can see the Palestinian oak, holly, pistachio and Dubrovnik with delicate blue flowers.
You can visit the reserve throughout the year, but the best time for hiking is spring, when wild orchids, anemones, daffodils, daisies, dandelions and the beautiful Philadelphia petals begin to bloom. At the same time, the first migratory birds appear here, of which there are more and more every day. In the visitor center of the reserve, you can get information about the rich flora and fauna of these places, and then from here you can set off along one of the two paths that lead to Lake Preola and the Lower Whirlpool. People with disabilities can also visit the observation deck at the Lower Whirlpool, covering a distance of 180 meters.
Numerous aquatic bird species can be observed from the observation deck at Lake Preola, especially during the spring months when they nest in the reed beds. The shores of the lake were chosen by stilts, a small bittern with brown spotted wings, a rare white-eyed duck and ibises with long and curved beaks. Red and gray herons nest among reed thickets, and wild ducks, coots, grebes, red-nosed divers and grebes swim in the water. The reserve is also home to the European marsh turtle, once widespread but now only found within a few protected areas. And more recently, in the vicinity of Lake Murana, the staff of the reserve discovered a sultan bird with its characteristic purple plumage - the last time this species was seen here in the 1950s. Foxes, rabbits and porcupines also found refuge in the vast thickets of maquis.
