British journalist and producer Charlie Ottley, best known for promoting Romania's landscapes, culture, and cuisine through travel documentaries such as Wild Carpathia and Flavours of Romania, has embarked on a new project, this time aimed at promoting the Oltenia de sub Munte region. An aspiring UNESCO geopark, the area is located in southern Romania and stands out with its rich cultural and natural wealth.

Charlie Ottley and his team recently completed a new filming session in Oltenia de Sub Munte, capturing the beauty of several of the region's monuments. A key moment was the discovery and documentation of the churches of the Bats' Cave.

"I was impressed by the cave churches' uniqueness and history. The cave itself is interesting, but seeing exactly how these special places of worship functioned was like a fascinating journey back in time. As I've said before, and I'll say it again, Oltenia de sub Munte is an unexplored treasure of Romania, a region full of history and natural beauty. It is an honor to help highlight this corner of paradise and to work with the locals to promote and protect these riches," Ottley said.

Filming is set to continue in the region as the new documentary project joins the common effort to bring to light the values and partially explored potential of Oltenia de sub Munte. 

In addition to making the film, Charlie Ottley will also support the restoration of the region's monuments, especially by starting projects such as 3D scanning and organizing virtual tours.

Local Kogayon Association, headed by Florin Stoican, has been working on getting the region the UNESCO geopark status, along with 120 partners in the area from different sectors.

The non-profit has been active since 2001 and has previously worked on setting up the Buila-Vânturarița National Park in 2004 and the Văcăreşti Natural Park in Bucharest, the establishment of the National Network of Urban Natural Areas, plus more than 20 projects in Oltenia de sub Munte.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Kogayon Association)