ECOtourism in Kamenín and Héreg villages

The aim of our project was to promote local traditions and create closer cooperation between the municipalities of Kamenín and Héreg in the form of ECO tourism. After arriving in the village of Kamenín, visitors will enjoy the atmosphere of a real folk house. Our hosts will welcome them in local costumes and during a tour of the house and accessories used for everyday life in the past, they can be refreshed by a local selection of wines, and of course there must be the original bread with fat and onions on it, or other local delicacies. The bravest can take part in the process of preparing the horses for the journey with the carriage, the horses are in at the folk house in the renovated barn. After completing the folk house tour, we can move to a nearby farm with mangalicas, which, as it used to be in Hortobágy, Hungary, can be found grazing in the wild right next to our village. Depending on the interest of our esteemed guests, they can enrich their visit by visiting the church, wine cellars, monuments. It is also possible for visitors to move directly to the Kamenínske slaniská nature reserve, where there are about 80 gray steppe cattle imported directly from the Hungarian Hortobágy. With the help of this herd, we managed to save one of the largest salt marshes in Slovakia, which is also an area of higher European interest and part of the NATURA2000 project. There are many protected species of plants and animals in the area, the most important being the Siberian statice (Limonium Gmelinii), which provides extraordinary view for our visitors especially in the month of July and August when the Siberian statice is flowering. After a tour of the nature reserve by horse-drawn carriage, visitors can relax in the newly built seating area or enjoy the view from the lookout tower. We will spend the end of the day with a cultural program where the Kamenín folklore group will perform on the stage in front of the town hall. If visitors are interested in staying more than one day, in the evening they can move to the accommodation in the nearby village of Héreg on the Hungarian side of the border. During the short existence and functionality of this project, we had visitors from the USA, Russia and several EU countries. It is interesting that there were visitors who came in order to get information and idea on how to implement a similar project in their country, for example from Czech Republic. During a friendly meeting, we were very happy to advise them and point out the administrative documents needed to ensure the functionality of the project. Many thanks to all stakeholders in the implementation of the project, but especially to the organization Interreg Slovakia-Hungary.