Smolyan
Smolyan is the administrative, business and cultural centre of the region.
The municipality covers an area of 879 sq. km, and its population numbers 49 889 men. The residents of the central municipal town number 30 000 men. The municipality itself includes 87 towns and villages. Smolyan is situated in the heart of the Rhodopes and it is the natural capital of the mountain. The three villages of which it is made up – Ustovo, Raykovo and Smolyan- are situated along the banks of the Cherna River (Black River) and Byala River.
The town is located 260 km away from Sofia, 90 km away from Plovdiv Airport and 10 km away from the “Perelik” resort. There are approximately 50 hotels there, offering 2000 tourist beds.

Stoykite
The picturesque village of Stoykite has a population of 420 men and it is situated in the very heart of the Western Rhodopes. This small Rhodope village has preserved its authentic face, its national traditions, customs and culture, which turns it into a veritable open-air museum.
Stoykite is located 16 km north-west from Smolyan, 95 km south-west from Plovdiv and 10 km away from the “Perelik” resort. The village can accommodate about 800 visitors in the hotels and in the private lodgings.
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In the region of the ”Shiroka Laka” State Forestry Unit the following protected areas add to to the unique natural beauty of the region:

Turlata – an area of 18.6 ha. Protection of territories with spectacular landscapes; remains of fortresses, dating from the Second Bulgarian kingdom.

Vracha – an area of 4.0 ha. A top with fortress remains.

Gradishteto – an area of 9.0 ha. Ruins of an ancient fortress.

Ledenitsata (The Icy One) – A cave on the land of the village of Gela with a surrounding area of 0.1 ha. The negotiable length of the cave is about 900 m. Noteworthy morphology with ice formations in the winter time which have given the cave its name.

Photograph by Katarina Stefanovic

Chernoka – an area of 8.6 ha. A 300-years-old black pine forest and rock formations on the land of the village of Solishta.

Lyatnata Gora (The Summer Forest) – an area of 36.6 ha. A beautiful age-old spruce and fir forest.

Momata (The Maiden) – an area of 0.4 ha. Rock formations the central of whom resembles a standing female figure.

Gorchova Voda – an area of 17.3 ha. Age-old forest.

Rozhen – an area of 108.5 ha. Picturesque forest landscapes with vast high-mountain meadows, surrounded by spruce forests.

Author: Sports & Tourist Center Perelik www.perelikbg.com

More about The Rhodope Mountains:
Discover even more about what Rhodope Mountains has to offer and find out what your fellow travellers think of the Rhodope Mountains here:
http://www.bulgariatravelnotes.com/category/rhodope mountains/

On the territory of the town of Smolyan there are also some remarkable nature landmarks:

Nevyastata-Turluka – The nature landmark Nevyastata (The Bride) is a formation of rocks. The total territory of the site is 47.7 ha, of which 41.8 ha are covered with forests and 5.9 ha are unforested.

Smolyanski Vodopad (Smolyan waterfall) – A waterfall on the Kriva Reka river near Smolyan, with a height of 20 m and an area of 0.2 ha.

Smolyanski Ezera (Smolyan Lakes) – Mountain lakes of landslide origin. An area of 9.5 ha. Preservation of the unique landscapes, surrounding the lakes, the flora and the wildlife, typical for the area. A well known tourist destination.

Dalboki Dol (Deep Dell) with total forested area of 5.8 ha. Located on the land of the village of Stoykite. A centuries-old fir, spruce and beech forest on the land of Stoykite has been put under protection.
The forest fund territories which have been declared protected areas include also the wood grouse (capercaillie) habitats and the seed bases.

Author: Sports & Tourist Center Perelik www.perelikbg.com

More about The Rhodope Mountains:
Discover even more about what Rhodope Mountains has to offer and find out what your fellow travellers think of the Rhodope Mountains here:
http://www.bulgariatravelnotes.com/category/rhodope mountains/

Archaeological explorations in the Perelik Ridge of Rhodope Mountain indicate that it was inhabited still in the Paleolithic epoch. A part of one of the branches of the central trans- Rhodope road is localized at the foot of Perelik (2191m) and it connects Marichina valley and Mediterranean Thrakia still in the late bronze era (ХVІ-ХІІ) This road is one of the main tourist attractions in the region. It makes possible to the guests of STC Perelik to visit some of the villages, fortresses, sanctuaries, temples and necropolis, found by the archaeologists.

Before it reaches the resort of Pamporovo the Central trans-Rhodope road goes westwards through the village lines Stoikite- Stikal, Solishta- Gela. The archaeologists found in the area the settlements of the ancient Thracians that are of the so called „scattered” kind. There are already registered and partly explored materials from it which are to be seen on the slant slopes, flanked in the north by the Golyamata river (feeder of the river Vucha) and in the south by the Perelik ridge.
The earliest time when the foots of Perelik have been inhabited refers back to the late Bronze epoch (ХVІ-ХІІ b.c.).
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The Rhodope mountain range is located in the south-eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula; its highest summit is Mount Perelik (2192 m). Over 83% of the mountain stands on bulgarian territory and the rest is in Greece. The Rhodopes are among the earliest formed mountain ranges on the Balkans.

The border between the Rhodopes, Rila and the Pirin mountains is carved out by the Yadenitsa River valley, the Yundola Saddle, Avramov’s Saddle, the Dreshenets River and the Mesta River valley. The northern slopes of the Rhodopes are significantly steeper than the southern where the mountain gently settles itself down onto the plains of Aegean Thrace. Due to certain geographical peculiarities, the Rhodopes have been divided into two parts – Western (high), and Eastern (low). The division between these two parts is drawn by the rivers Kayaliyka and Borovitsa. The average annual temperature in the Eastern Rhodopes is 12-13˚С, the maximum of rainfall is in December, and the minimum is in August. The Western Rhodopes cover a territory of 8732 sq. km., and the average annual temperatures reach between 5˚С and 9˚С.
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The Soskovcheto Reserve was declared a reserve in 1968. Its buffer zone was established in 1986. Currently a procedure has been opened, for the recategorisation of the buffer zone into a protected zone. The reserve covers an area of 177.5 ha and its buffer zone – 104.4 ha.
This protected area offers exceptional landscapes – a dense and full-bodied river network, deep river beds, rapids and waterfalls, rock formations. Centuries-old Scots pine and spruce forests are being preserved here.

There are also rare plants, threatened by extinction, such as the Balkan endemic species of lady’s mantle (Alchemilla bulgarica), the Bulgarian endemic Rhodope rock dill (Seseli rhodopaeum), saxifraga (Saxifraga ferdinandi-coburgi) – a Balkan endemic and glacial relic. The reserve also gives home to animal species such as the alpine newt, the black woodpecker and the brown bear.
The Ministry of the environment and waters is financing the building of the eco-track “The Waterfall’s Canyon” in the reserve. The natural water cascade is over 100 metres high. The company STC Perelik will make a donation of 20 ha of land to increase the reserve’s area.
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