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The trip to this unique and unearthly place will take you a whole day if you are really fast, so I strongly recommend that this should be a trip for the whole weekend so that you will get impressions from the beautiful and unpredictable Rhodope mountain – where Orpheus once lived.

On your way to there, you will pass by the National Astronomical Observatory – Rozhen and by one of our biggest winter resorts – Pamporovo which now looks sad and abandoned but just wait for the first snow.

The Wonderful Bridges are two and striking in size – they are huge marble rocks which stretch to the two ends of Dalbok Dol river. It took this phenomena centuries to shape in the way we see it today – it was a cave carved by the waters of the river. It is said that after an earthquake, a considerable part of the rocks fell into the river which washed them away.

The first bridge is 70 metres high, while the second one is 50 metres. Close to the second bridge, there is a cave – Ledenata Pesetera (The Icy Cave) which keeps very low temperatures that do not allow the ice to melt down.

My first impression when I saw the place was that the Wonderful Bridges look as if someone has put them there – they strongly contrast the wild nature that surrounds them.

After visiting  the bridges, you can stop in the nearby restaurants and have excellently made Kachamak or Patatnik which are so typical for the region. In all the villages around, you can find family houses for guests – the prices in the summer are usually 15 Leva per peson, dunring the winter – 20 or 25 Leva.

Lakatnik rocks are above Lakatnik train station and are a breathtaking phenomenon.

They are right next to Lakatnik village, near the city of Svoge, north of Sofia, so it is a great location if you want to feel on the top of everything that surrounds you. The place is not very far away from our capital but at the same time it is far enough to feel that you are tripping.
To climb the rocks you have two options – either by using the steep scenic path which of course starts at the very bottom of the rocks where Lakatnik train station is, or by climbing them if you have professional equipment and lots of experience since they are literary vertical and reach over 250 meters. This place is like a magnet to the alpinists.

Whatever way you choose, once you step on the very top, you will discover a spectacular view – the village and the station are far below you, so little and insignificant in comparison to the mighty nature which surrounds them.
Setting up a tent is no problem there, even it is recommended – you will hear from time to time the distant horn of passing trains and in the morning you will feel reborn.

A map you can find here, otherwise I found and interesting web-site which is dedicated to the rocks.

To reach them you can use either the train which goes through Svoge or a car by following the map.

The cave is in the north part of Bulgaria – 11 km west far away from the small city of Yablanitca and 2 km south from from the village of Brestnica. In short, it is around 85 km away from Sofia which makes it a perfect one-day trip.

Since it is one of the most beautiful caves in our country, it is also known as “The pearl of the underground”. It is said that the cave is old 3,5 million years.
The temperature inside is constant and during the whole year it is 12 degrees centigrade.

It has 3 halls with great acoustics which inspired famous musicians to record their tracks there.

During the summer it is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m while during the winter – from 9 a.m. till 4.30 p.m.
Entrance: 3 Leva (1.5 Euro), also if you want to take pictures inside, you have to pay 2 Leva (1 Euro) for a photo camera and 5 Leva (2.5 Euro) for a video camera.