Exploring beyond Sofia
Menu
  • Bulgaria
    • Ecopaths
    • One place – two seasons
    • Southwest region
      • Blagoevgrad region
      • Kyustendil region
      • Pernik region
      • Sofia region
    • Thracian – Rhodope region
      • Gabrovo region
      • Haskovo region
      • Kardzhali region
      • Lovech region
      • Pazardzhik region
      • Plovdiv region
      • Smolyan region
      • Stara Zagora region
    • Danube region
      • Pleven region
      • Silistra region
      • Vidin region
      • Vratsa region
    • Black Sea region
      • Burgas region
      • Dobrich region
      • Shumen region
      • Varna region
  • Abroad
    • France
      • Lyon
      • Strasbourg
      • Toulouse
    • Germany
    • Hungary
      • Budapest
    • Iceland
    • Italy
      • Florence
      • Genoа
      • Milan
      • Pisa
      • Siena
      • Turin
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Netherlands
    • Portugal
      • Aveiro
      • Azores
      • Braga
      • Cascais
      • Coimbra
      • Évora
      • Guimaraes
      • Lisbon
      • Madeira
      • Óbidos
      • Porto
      • Sintra
    • Romania
    • Seychelles
    • Spain
      • Barcelona
      • Valencia
    • United Kingdom
      • Aberdeen
      • Edinburgh
  • Guests
  • About me
    • About me
    • Contacts
    • Collaboration
    • Blog life events
  • Български
Exploring beyond Sofia
  • Bulgaria
    • Ecopaths
    • One place – two seasons
    • Southwest region
      • Blagoevgrad region
      • Kyustendil region
      • Pernik region
      • Sofia region
    • Thracian – Rhodope region
      • Gabrovo region
      • Haskovo region
      • Kardzhali region
      • Lovech region
      • Pazardzhik region
      • Plovdiv region
      • Smolyan region
      • Stara Zagora region
    • Danube region
      • Pleven region
      • Silistra region
      • Vidin region
      • Vratsa region
    • Black Sea region
      • Burgas region
      • Dobrich region
      • Shumen region
      • Varna region
  • Abroad
    • France
      • Lyon
      • Strasbourg
      • Toulouse
    • Germany
    • Hungary
      • Budapest
    • Iceland
    • Italy
      • Florence
      • Genoа
      • Milan
      • Pisa
      • Siena
      • Turin
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Netherlands
    • Portugal
      • Aveiro
      • Azores
      • Braga
      • Cascais
      • Coimbra
      • Évora
      • Guimaraes
      • Lisbon
      • Madeira
      • Óbidos
      • Porto
      • Sintra
    • Romania
    • Seychelles
    • Spain
      • Barcelona
      • Valencia
    • United Kingdom
      • Aberdeen
      • Edinburgh
  • Guests
  • About me
    • About me
    • Contacts
    • Collaboration
    • Blog life events
  • Български
Bulgaria, Smolyan region, Thracian - Rhodope region

Smolyan summer

posted by Dario
Aug 28, 2018 1635 0 1
Share

Mountain refreshment

Who needs to go to the sea when you have a breathtaking mountain like the Rhodopes? It is true that this year I will not visit the Bulgarian Seaside, but this sacrifice is entirely worthwhile, considering what is coming in the near future.

But I have been asking myself lately, “Who needs to go to the sea when we have such unusual beautiful mountains?” Through long selfreflections I listened to my inner voice and went to my favorite Rhodopes to seek the answer to this question. To recharge my soul under the shadow of century-old forests, full of stories and emotions.

So I spent two amazing days in the heart of the Rhodopes and I will tell you about three different places I had the pleasure of shooting with the latest Panasonic camera, LUMIX DC – G9L with Leica DG Vario – Elmarit lens 12-60 mm.

Smolyan Lakes

From early dawn we headed to our first destination, before it gets full of people who visited in order to relax. So we first headed to the Smolyan lakes, or rather to the highest one, because afterwards we realized that we were confused and missed the other lakes.

After wandering through the Rhodope paths, we found ourselves in front of the Misty Lake, one of the eight remaining lakes nowadays (before they were more than 20). It is the highest lake, located at 1,500 meters, and is the deepest – 4.5 meters. I have to confess that it instantly mesmerized us with its beautiful blue-green colours, that fitted incredibly well into the nature surrounding us. He gave a touch of calm, accompanied by the smell of coniferous forests, through which the summer sun’s rays were passing.

We spent a lot of time in this place and on the pictures you will understand that it is worth it, because it is full of magic that everybody needs to feel.

And not to forget here is one of the most photogenic trees I have ever seen, “The Harp of Orpheus” – a true legacy of Bulgarian nature and another proof that nature is the true Creator of everything.

Useful information:
You can leave your car at the parking lot in front of the church “St. Spirit “;
The place is favorable for people of all ages, as well as for a family walk, accompanied by a picnic;

Nearby is the Smolyan Lakes Chalet, where you can stay for a fee: Overnight in a room with three or four beds – 10 levs per bed.
Room with two beds with WC – 15 levs per bed.
Apartment 5 beds – 15 levs per bed.
Apartment 4 beds – 15 levs per bed;
The pond of Orpheus is on the path of the Misty Lake;
Be careful and keep an eye on the small markings (in my case, they were yellow pieces of cloth);
Do not underestimate this place, but visit it because every second you spend here is worth it!;

Uhlovitsa Cave

After a pleasant walk we headed to Uhlovitsa cave, which is located just before the village of Mogilitsa, near the border with Greece. Like every cave, this one has a unique beauty. The pride of Uhlovitsa is the numerous forms of dendrites or, as most are recognized, denote coral shapes. They are diverse in a variety of forms and create a feeling, as if you are at the bottom of the ocean.

The place is really mysterious and beautiful, the whole structure of the cave is built on several floors, as they adhere to the four chasms leading downstairs. The length of the cave is 470 m, most of which is suitable for tourism – 330 meters.

But as the most impressive part of the cave can be announced the big stone, sparkling in white, waterfall which leads to 7 small ponds which are formed every spring during the snow melting period.

Useful information:
The cave is situated 3 km northeast of the village of Mogilitsa, about 30 km southwest of Smolyan and 37 km from Pamporovo;
Work time:
May – September:
9:00 – 17:00
no day off
October – April:
9:00 – 17:00
weekends – Monday and Tuesday;
Groups enter every hour. Last entry – 16 o’clock.

Entrance fees:
4 levs per adult
2 levs for children.
For a group of less than 5 people, a total cost of 20 levs will be charged.
The price of the lecture is included in the price of the ticket and is only in Bulgarian;
At the foot of the hill there is a parking lot, equipped with a café, a gazebo and a souvenir shop;
The climb is steep and takes 30 minutes;

Agushevi konatsi

This is an incredible place located in the southern part of the Rhodope Mountains in the village of Mogilitsa. Agushevi konatsi sounds interesting when you hear it for the first time, but can we really understand what this is? It is an architectural and artistic monument, representing the largest preserved feudal ensemble. It was built in 1840, occupying 3000 square meters, and represents two large living quarters with three internal gardens, separated by high walls from each other. But the impressive figures are that the structure has 221 windows, 86 doors and 24 chimneies.

The owner of this interesting place was a wealthy Bulgarian Mohamedan named Agas Aga, who had three sons. He was keeping the bussines with sheep farming on the Aegean Sea. Three families lived in the manor, as they were able to afford it. But the site served mainly as a summer residence, whether to accommodate guests or even as an inn.

The place is truly unique for the simple reason that so many diverse details can be seen on all elements. From stone pavement to rooms and ceilings. Everything was dazzled to perfection for those times. But one of the most interesting facts about this place is that they owned one of the richest libraries on the Balkan Peninsula, proven to had over 400 volumes of manuscripts, most of which are housed in the city’s library in Plovdiv nowadays.

Useful information:
The entrance fee is 4 levs per adult and 2 levs for children, students and pensioners;
A guide is included in the price, which tells interesting stories that happened behind these walls;
Working hours are from 10:00 to 18:00 (changes possible, depending on the season). The facility is located in the center of Mogilitsa village, which is 30 km away from the town of Smolyan and 37 from Pamporovo;
You can leave your car in front of the tourist center of the village;
The place is very interesting and suitable for a family visit;

I would like to say thank you to Panasonic Bulgaria for providing me with the LUMIX DC – G9L photo camera.

Share

Previous

Wanderers in Bucharest

Next

The favorite places of the Bulgarian travel bloggers in Bulgaria 2018

About me

Travel Blogger

Dario Dionisi



If you want to know something more about me – my soul is a traveler, my origin is Italian and my true essence is a faithful friend. I am always open to new ideas and will be very happy if you want to contact me at dario@beyondsofia.com

Subscribe

Be with me in every adventure!

* indicates required

legenddario

Dario • Exploring beyond Sofia
Grateful to had the opportunity to go to so many p Grateful to had the opportunity to go to so many places this year, sharing some of my favourite snaps of #2022 , can’t wait to see what adventures are awaiting me during 2023 🤩

#yearoftravel #europe
Oh my god, is it already the end of the year! This Oh my god, is it already the end of the year! This year was full with surprises from our beautiful planet. In this video I gathered some of my most favourite nature spots and moments that I had the luck to record. And seriously there is no better caption to describe them than OH MY GOD 🤩

#ourplanet #ohmygod #momentsthatmatter
Life edition #2022 Life edition #2022
Welcome to the Vaticans wonders ✨ #Vatican #mus Welcome to the Vaticans wonders ✨

#Vatican #museum #wonders
The eternal city slaying since 751 BC #Rome #Ital The eternal city slaying since 751 BC

#Rome #Italy #eternalcity
“Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain “Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain speaking. I’d like to welcome everyone on Rightwing Flight 86A. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 10.000 km above sea level at an airspeed of 645 km per hour. The time is 3:25 pm. The weather looks good and with the tailwind on our side we are expecting to land in Rome approximately fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. I’ll talk to you again before we reach our destination. Until then, sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the flight.„

#Rome #Italy #fly
Golden Athens since 508 BC #Greece #Athens #Sunse Golden Athens since 508 BC

#Greece
#Athens
#Sunset
Living the Ancient Greek way | Series two Let’s Living the Ancient Greek way | Series two

Let’s be honest, living during the ancient times of Greece was probably cool.

They had so many different and creative crafts that most of them we can witness until nowadays.

A good example for this is the new museum of the Acropolis. A modern building representing the exactly same proportions of the Parthenonas.

In the museum you can see fundamental artefacts picturing the believes and life from ancient times.

But probably the best part for me was the chance to see by myself all the perfect details crafted on different surfaces.

#Greece
#Athens
#History
Living the Ancient Greek way | Series one The hil Living the Ancient Greek way | Series one

The hill of Acropolis
- Parthenon since 432 BC
- Erechtheion since 406 BC
- Theatre of Dionysus since 520 BC

#Greek
#Ancient
#History
Load more Follow me
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

You Might Also Like

Bulgaria, One place - two seasons, Pernik region, Southwest region
Dec 12, 2017

Gorge of the Erma River

Gorge of the Erma River, a nature’s tale Today’s adventure is in a new shape which I have been planning...

Read More
1 0
Bulgaria, Danube region, Pleven region
May 16, 2017

On the route of wine and Bulgarian folklore through Pleven’s panorama

On the route of wine and Bulgarian folklore through Pleven’s panorama   Northern Bulgaria has many...

Read More
2 0

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Copyrights © 2023 Exploring beyond Sofia. All Rights Reserved
Back top
 

Loading Comments...