Vylkove (Vilkovo in Russian and Valcov in Romanian) is the southernmost Ukrainian town located along the western coast of the Black Sea in the far south of the historical region of Bessarabia (formerly the Principality of Moldova). The oldest part of Vylkove (founded in 1775) is built entirely on small islands separated from each other by narrow canals (called "yerik") suitable only for the passage of small, streamlined boats, which have given the town the nickname "Venice of Ukraine and the Black Sea". Vylkove is also famous for being the land of the Lipovans, Russian followers of the old Orthodox rite who fled Russia in 1772 to avoid religious persecution. To build their homes, the Lipovans created small islands made of dry land by building "trenches" to avoid the mud moved by the canals, forming a characteristic grid of square diagrams and channels. The perimeter walls of the houses were built using shrubs and reeds present in the mud, while the ceilings were straw-covered. The base of the walls were surrounded by shells to facilitate the drainage of rainwater.

Every year the owners of the houses built their plots gradually, in fact the houses slowly sank into the mud and it was necessary to completely rebuild them every two decades. Until recently the forms of movement of the indigenous population consisted only of small boats or on foot walking along the wooden walkways built between the houses and the canals. The Lipovans have always been excellent fishermen who speak a Russian dialect imbued with several expressions of the Romanian language, they are also very attached to their culture and extremely hospitable. Vylkove is located at the 19th kilometer from the zero point (0 KM) of the Danube delta (Kilia arm), this is a unique peculiarity of the river in fact the Danube counts its length from the mouth and not, as is common for all other rivers, from the source. From the town of "Lipovana" wind the beautiful canals that make up the delta of which about 70% are in Ukrainian territory while the remaining 30% belongs to Romania. Along these canals, which have always been inhabited except during the Soviet era for "security reasons", the native populations grow vines as well as fishing; this is another unique feature of this area in fact there are very few cases of lagoon and marshy areas where this activity is carried out. The wine produced (called "Novak"), of low alcohol content, is excellent to accompany the fish soups that the Lipovans love to serve to guests with the sweetest local strawberries for dessert! Needless to say, the fauna and flora present in the lagoon are unique, the countless varieties of birds make the delta a true paradise for bird watching enthusiasts! It is important to underline the fact that the Delta Biosphere Reserve is protected by the WWF and recognized as such by UNESCO.