Baláta-tó, Protected lake in Somogy County, Hungary.
Baláta-tó is a protected wetland of about 220 hectares with floating peat islands, sedge marshes, and mossy willow bogs in southern Hungary. The area also includes older oak and hornbeam forests that complete the picture of an intact bog landscape.
The area was protected in 1942 as the first conservation site of its kind in Somogy County. This early recognition established the foundation for decades of scientific study and restoration work that followed.
The wetland landscape reveals how water-loving plants and animals have shaped this corner of Transdanubia over time. Walking through reveals layers of sedges, mosses, and forest where the rhythm of daily nature unfolds at its own pace.
The site is accessible via a forest railway with regular service from the nearby station to the reserve entrance. A wooden boardwalk about 600 meters long allows visitors to safely cross the bog and observe wildlife without disturbing the ecosystem.
The bog harbors a carnivorous aquatic plant species that vanished from the region but was later rediscovered among the wetlands. This unexpected recovery demonstrated that nature at this location could regenerate itself under the right conditions.
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