While Bulgaria’s seaside and mountain resorts continue to attract the bulk of both domestic and international tourists, more unconventional destinations around the country are also starting to become popular with travellers. Among their advantages are the smaller or nonexistent tourist crowds, as well as the alternative tourism opportunities they provide.

Such destinations – because they combine recreational activities with the exploration of archaeological and natural sites, are perfect for more adventurous and inquisitive travellers. In anyone, they tend to inspire a curiosity and a spirit of discovery that are impossible to get from just sitting by the pool.

One such destination, rife with both natural stone formations and ancient archaeological remains, is the region of the eastern Rodopi Mountains in southern Bulgaria, near the town of Kurdzhali. It is a good weekend-getaway destination, but the diversity and abundance of sites make it a place where you could spend a week or two without getting bored.

Thracian rock niches, ancient sanctuaries and stone formations shaped like giant mushrooms and a wedding procession are just several of the many historical and natural treasures scattered throughout the gently rolling hills of this part of the Rodopi, while many of the smaller artefacts found by archaeologists are displayed in Kurdzhali’s Regional Museum of History.

Judging from the regular media reports about illicit digging by treasure-hunters, some artefacts are yet to be uncovered. And although, unless you join them, you’ll most likely not be taking any precious object home with you, the experience of having visited and explored the sites will surely make you richer.

In a peculiar way, going around the sites and being in the presence of the ancient remains fills the visitor with a spirit of exploration and discovery. So it is not difficult to understand why Bulgarian director Georgi Duylgerov chose the area as a shooting location for his latest feature film The Goat (due to be released at the beginning of 2009) – a tale of a mythical creature in the shape of a goat that knows the location of a buried ancient treasure.



During filming this past spring, artificial sets were kept down to a minimum and the natural sites throughout the region served as a visual backdrop on which much of the story unfolds. All of them, as well as many others that were not included in the movie are easily accessible to travellers, located within short car drives away from Kurdzhali.

Just don’t be surprised if – upon lingering at a spot at any of the sites, local people come to ask whether you are looking for treasures.

Perperikon: Where Greatness Was Foretold

Since it was discovered and began to be explored eight years ago, the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon – to the northeast of Kurdzhali, became the region’s most prominent site and one of Bulgaria’s top 100 national tourist attractions.

Although entry into the site is currently free of charge, it is advisable to hire a guide or buy a map indicating the various spots’ function and significance. Especially because the smaller artefacts discovered at the site are now displayed in Kurdzhali’s history museum, one could be left with the impression that the formations are nothing more than gigantic piles of rocks.



And that, they are definitely not. Archaeological studies indicate that the site and its structures served various purposes through the centuries, with human activity though to have taken place there as early as 5000 BC. This layering of historical periods, testified by the remains linked to different phases of the site’s development, could easily confuse the visitor and makes it even more imperative to buy a map or hire a guide – unless of course, one has a mythical, omniscient goat at his disposal.

Archaeologists have found dozens of sacrificial altars, a couple of burial chambers and hundreds of premises where rituals to communicate with and appease the gods with fire and wine were performed by ancient Thracian tribes. It is thought that the Bessi tribe’s oracular shrine dedicated to the ancient Greek god of wine, Dionysus, was situated there.



Two of the impressive remains that can be seen are an altar hewn into the rocks, dating from the late Bronze Age, as well as a copy of a stone church pulpit (the original is displayed at the museum), built at the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century AD, which was part of the Rodopi’s most ancient Christian temple – the Episcopalian Church of Perperikon.



At the site’s top level rises a nearly three-metre thick, free-standing wall, with two rectangular holes for windows. It gives a slightly surreal feeling and only begins to hint at what must have been the grandeur of the Roman fortress wall that was built around the hill to surround an enormous palace.



Historical accounts tell of two important events linked to Perperikon’s history as an oracular shrine. The first was the visit of Alexander the Great, the famed ancient Greek ruler and military commander, who at this spot received the prophecy, which was eventually fulfilled, that he would take over the entire ancient world. The second prophecy was foretold to the father of Augustus, who was told that of his son’s future glory – Augustus eventually went on to inherit Caesar and become the first ruler of the Roman Empire.

Tatul: The Ancient Shrine of Orpheus

Referred to as Orpheus’s sanctuary, the story of this archaeological site is not entirely clear or straightforward either. While the signs leading up to the spot claim it was a Thracian sanctuary and an antique temple dating from the 2000 BC to the third century AD, other sources date it only between the second and the first century AD.

What seems to be universally accepted are the uncontroversial assertions that Tatul – lying to the southeast of Kurdzhali, served as a site for both religious rites and astronomical observations.

And although the large shed covering much the stone remains that was in place during our visit and the newly-laid stone wall reproducing what must have been destroyed proved a little distracting, making the site seem more like a décor than an ancient sanctuary, there are nevertheless several parts that attract the attention.



One of them is a trapezoid tomb chamber, located at the site’s highest point and reachable by a precarious climb up steps hewn into the rocks.



On the very top of structure, there is a rectangular shallow hole and on its side is another half-circular opening, their form – though empty, suggestive enough of a dead human or animal body lying within them to give one the creeps.

Though not for the weak-hearted, climbing onto the actual structure and standing inside the hole on top gives an exhilarating view, enough to make one forget, albeit for a brief moment, that his feet are in a spot where animals were sacrificially slaughtered.

The other part of Tatul that makes an impression is a semicircular dome-shaped structure. A square hole in the top lets in light into the lower part, which comprises an oval chamber large enough to fit several people.

The place’s solemnity is again undermined by contemporary graffiti on the ancient rock. A nymph-like figure, carved onto the inside wall gives the chamber a lighter, almost whimsical quality. And though little else from the scribbling is legible, people with imaginative minds – and maybe with a little hint from the mythical goat, may be able to decipher directions to a buried treasure.



Stone Wedding: Where Eternal Damnation Punished Impure Thoughts

These natural rock formations, located to the northeast of Kurdzhali near the village of Zimzelen, resemble free-standing human and animal figures. Similarly to the rock formations at Belogradchik, the legend which explains their whimsical shapes is based on human vice, punished by eternal damnation. According to the story, a wrathful wind turned an entire wedding procession to stone when the groom’s father looked at the bride with impure thoughts.



The white, terracotta-stained figures of the bride and groom are easily discernible, which is not the case with the tainted father-in-law and the other guests who need a little more imagination to make out.

The gently-sloping, green hill immediately next to the rock formations was one of the shooting locations used for the film and one of the few places where an artificial set was built. Although the outdoor bathtub of the goat’s human companion that was placed there during filming is no longer there, the large rocks’ human shapes give the scenery a permanent surreal feel.



Stone Mushrooms Hewn by the Elements

Another group of fanciful rock formations is that of the Stone Mushrooms, located near the village of Beli Plast, to the north of Kurdzhali. The explanation of their origins has spared them a curse on the doomed human predicament and instead, their forms are attributed to nature’s elements.

Aptly and unambiguously named, the formations resemble…. you guessed right – gigantic mushrooms. Uniformly standing at about 2.5 metres in height, the shapes were supposedly created by underwater volcanic activity over 30 million years ago, when the region was a sea bed, and were later completed by wind, rain, and the sun.



Because of the elements, the lower part of the mushrooms, their ‘stalks’, are a light, pinkish colour, while their top part, the ‘caps’, are darker green.

Rock Niches: Where Thracian Laid Ashes of the Dead

Though similar rock monuments spotted with man-made niches are found in several spots in the eastern Rodopi region, the most impressive site is that of the vertical Eagles’ Rocks, to the southwest of Kurdzhali.

The sacred site was made by the Thracians who put urns with the ashes of their dead in the trapeze-shaped niches, which varied in size – between 60 and 70 centimetres in height, a width of around 20 – 35 centimetres and a depth of 30-34 centimetres.

The highest, western side of the rock reaches 30 metres and, though it is virtually inaccessible, boasts the most niches – over 50. The south side, which is about 25 metres high, they number around 35.

Archaeologists differ in their opinions of when this necropolis was created, their assertions ranging between the first century AD and the fourth to the fifth centuries BC, but that does not take away from their impressive nature.

Even though the five sites highlighted here are perhaps the most impressive of the region, it boasts many more natural phenomena and archaeological remains to fill many days with sightseeing. The medieval fortresses of Vishegrad, Ustra and Bashevo, the Roman bridges near the town of Adrino and the Greek border, the womb-shaped cave near the village of Nenkovo – they are all jewels that are worth a visit.

You will not need the mythical goat to tell you where the treasure is – just look at a map of the sites of the region. And, like a true explorer and treasure-hunter that you are, take photographs – they shall be your bounty.

Practical information:

How to get there: The town of Kurdzhali is located at about 240 kilometres southeast of Sofia. Driving time is just over 3 hours.

Where to stay: Kurdzhali can serve as a convenient base from which to explore the surrounding sites. Private accommodation in the town ranges between 10 and 15 euro for a double room, while hotel prices vary between 30 and 50 euro for two people per night. Keep in mind that although all the sites are within short car drives from the town, it is a good idea to allow for at least half a day per location.


Read more about the town of Kurdzhali on BalkanTravellers.com
Read more about Bulgaria on BalkanTravellers.com
Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Bulgaria