Bulgaria Travel Notes» Rhodope mountains

Towns and villages in the Rhodope Mountain

editor — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:30:47 +0000

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.

Stikal
The village of Stikal is located 5 km away from the village of Gela. The name Stikal comes from the old Bulgarian word “kale” which means castle, fortress. The village is known for the curious matter that its people are fewer than its houses. According to the official data the residents number 45 men but in the winter less than 25 people remain. Nonetheless almost every house can give accommodation to the tourists. “A house won’t get eaten up if a stranger should sleep in it. You won’t run out of food if you feed him but he will remember the good thing you did for him till the end of his days.” These words are the creed of the Stikalians. The caves Beliat Kamak (the White Stone Cave) and Serdarevata Peshtera (the Serdareva Cave) are located near the village.

Solishta
The village of Solishta is a small village which has scattered its houses about the hills beneath Mount Turlata, 5 km away from Shiroka Laka in the Lukovitsa River vale.
A matter of interest is the village’s church complex, especially the bell-tower of the “Sveta Nedelya” church(Holy Sunday), crafted by the self-taught master Filyu Korbadjiev. The “Chernoka” protected area is located close to the village- the area has a Black Pine forest with over 3oo years old trees.
There is a tourist accommodation office offering accommodation services; there are also chalets offering very good conditions which can be hired separately.

Gela
The village of Gela is situated in the Rhodopes Perelik ridge. The closest town to it is Shiroka Laka – 6 km away from it, and the village of Solishta which is 9 km away from it. The setting up of this settlement is lost in the mists of time but we know that it has been inhabited by the Thracians. According to a legend the village of Gela is the birth place of Orpheus. Each summer the village of Gela hosts a national bagpipe music contest. In August there takes place the “Ilinden” fair, held at the “St. Elijah” Chapel (the first Saturday and Sunday of August). In Gela you can stay at private lodgings or small family hotels offering about 100 beds.

Mugla
The village of Mugla is situated on the upper reaches of the Muglenska River which astounds with the beauty of its picturesque waterfalls and rapids. The Bulgarian- Greek border is near it. According to an old legend the village was founded 5 centuries ago by four unmarried lads each of whom had stolen a maiden from Smolyan. They then hid themeselves in the unaccessable forests of today’s Mugla. The age of the village is indicated by the inscribed tablets, discovered in the surrounding lands; the archaeologists have not yet been able to decipher these inscriptions. The village is popular for its large number of Karst springs, the biggest of which is the spring Yaza. The wooden minaret of the mosque in the village centre is an unique piece of art. Many tourist routes start from Mugla and the village is part of the International European Tourist Route Е8.

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

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Protected areas of the Rhodope Mountain

editor — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:30:49 +0000

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

Nature landmarks of the Rhodope Mountain

editor — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:30:16 +0000

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

Archaeology of the Rhodope Mountain

editor — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:30:45 +0000

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.).

Evidences for that are the finds in the exploited necropolis in the neighborhood Zaevite, near the Gela village. An evidence for settled life is the Thracian fortress in the Gradishte area, southwestwards from the village of Gela, which was used as an asylum in the time of war in the Iron epoch (ХІ-І b.c .). Evidences for a persistent form of inhabitation of the Gela- Stoikite region are the exploited necropolises near the village Gela (VІ b.c. – ІV a.c.), the archaeological complex (a sanctuary- “St.Elenka” a necropolis and a village in the area Stoichensko pavle) (V – ІІ b.c), the fortress Turlata near the village Stikal (VІ-ХІV ) etc.

The Thracian fortress Turlata near the village Gela is situated in the area of Gradishte which has given its name. In the west there is preserved a wall of 90m length. In the east there isn`t built a fortress wall because it is taken advantage of the inaccessibility of the rocky ridge. At some places the wall is preserved up to 2,20m height.

The Thracian sanctuaries near the village of Gela are the places where according to their believes and views the terrestrial- human world at one side and the celestial- divine world at the other come into contact. From these places they are directing their prayers to the gods, make immolations, leave gifts. For that reason the Thracian sanctuaries are situated on “the top of the earth”. Regarding this it is not difficult to understand why in their main part the sanctuaries are situated on the Perelik-summit, on Turlata- south from Stikal, on Soliiski summit, in the north of Solishta and St. Vrach, in the south of Stoikite.

Smolyan, 16th of October, 2007
Nikola Damyanov

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

The Rhodope Mountains

editor — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:30:24 +0000

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.

The nice climate coupled with other factors is favourable for the development of tourism. The microclimate thus established enables a thick snow cover to be preserved for a long period of time – a veritable paradise for skiers.

15 of the areas have been declared nature reserves, some of which are under UNESCO’s protection.
Numerous mineral springs take their source from the mountain.

The Western Rhodopes are the larger ridge; they are higher, more developed and more visited by tourists than the Eastern Rhodopes. The highest and most well-known peaks are also here: Shirokolashki Snezhnik – 2188 m, Golyama Syutkya – 2186 m, Malak Perelik – 2147 m, Golyam Persenk – 2091 m, Batashki Snezhnik – 2082 m, Malka Syutkya – 2078 m, Malak Persenk – 2074 m, and Prespa – 2000 m.

Picturesque gorges, rock phenomena, lakes and unique landscapes attract thousands of tourists to visit the mountain during all the seasons. Many of the villages have been declared architectural monuments. They preserve traditions and customs, carrying us back through the centuries.

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

Nature reserves of the Rhodope Mountain

editor — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:30:37 +0000

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.

The Kazanite Reserve is located on the land of the village of Mugla and covers an area of 161 ha. The reserve was declared in 1968 with the aim to preserve the unique natural characteristics of this beautiful area in the Rhodope Mountains as well as to preserve the centuries-old mixed forests of beech, fir, spruce, Scots pine and other trees. Some of the species included in the Red Book which can be seen here are the lady’s mantle (Alchemilla bulgarica), the Rhodope rock dill (Seseli rhodopaeum) as well as the bearberry (Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi). Typical representatives of the local fauna are the honey buzzard, the black woodpecker and the brown bear.

The Momchilovski Dol Managed Reserve is located on the land of the village of Momchilovtsi and covers an area of 31.1 ha. It was declared a reserve in 1968 and in 1999 was recategorised into a managed reserve. A natural centuries-old black pine forest has been put under protection.

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