Description

Just below Kainchal Peak lies the source of the river Buinovska. It meanders through the vast meadows of Popini Laki, past the Yagodina cave and into the picturesque Buinovsko gorge, which is the longest one in Bulgaria (10 m). It has taken millions of years to form and now it is one of the 100 national tourist attractions.

The Syulevski guest house is a jewel in the wondrous natural environment of the Byunovsko gorge.

• Perperikon is a huge mass of rocks in the eastern Rhodopes which is believed to have appeared around 8,000 years ago. It is 15 km from Kardzhali, near the Perperishka River, which had gold in ancient times and people extracted it from its bed.

The early settlers believed in the Sun God. They used the huge rock to watch the sunrise. They also cut religious niches, graves and sanctuaries into the stone. Thus Perperikon’s natural appearance was changed by human activity. In these niches archaelogists have found many ritual vessels, figurines and objects connected to the Sun God.

This sanctuary flourished first during 18^th – 12^th c. BC, the time of the earliest European civilisation, the Creto-Mycaenic culture. Gradually the cult of the Sun was displaced by other deities in the period 9^th – 6^th c. BC. The cult of Orpheus and Dionysus appeared among the Thracians, and Perperikon became the centre of the Orphic beliefs and customs. It is believed that it was exactly Perperikon where the most famous shrine of Dionysus was.

The whole area of Perperikon is crisscrossed by numerous cuts – beds, pools, overflows, and altars, which suggest that sacrifice rituals were performed there. The thousands of altars and cuts in the stone must have been an impressive sight. During the Hellenic period (4^th – 1^st c. BC) activities on Perperikon began to wane but it experienced a renaissance in the 1^st c. when Thrace was occupied by the Romans.

Perperikon is a unique place which attracts tourists from all over the world.

• Yagodina Cave is the pearl among the caves in Bulgaria. It is only 4 km from the Syulevski guest house. The cave has a chamber in which civil weddings are organized. The cave is 10 km long with three levels, but only the lowest one is lit and made easily accessible for tourists who can follow a 1,100 m long path. Groups led by a guide are let in every hour.
• The Cave Home is located at the natural entrance to the cave, on the third level, a kilometre away from the exit of the cave. People with their own culture and life style inhabited this place thousands of years ago.
• Orlovo Oko (Eagle’s Eye) viewpoint is one of the most frequented spots in Bulgaria. It is located on the top of one of the highest peaks in the region, Sveti Iliya (1,500 m above sea level), above the village of Yagodina. To visit this spot you need about 2 hours and a 4X4 vehicle. The view is truly stunning. To walk the trail will take you 2 hours in each direction.
• Vishkata Viewpoint, located above the village of Buinovo, on the Kartala Peak at 1802 m above sea level, has only recently been opened to the public.

Dyavolsko Garlo Cave (Devil’s Throat) is 1,8 km north of Trigrad, 17 km south of Devin and 23 km from Popini Laki. This cave is famous not for its exquisite formations but for the roaring of the water falling in it. It is 1 km long, but the tourist trail is 350 m. It is open all year as the temperature in it is 8C. The waters of the Trigrad River pour down into the cave’s “throat” from a height of 42 m which makes it the highest underground waterfall in the Balkans. Four species of bats nest in the cave during the different seasons. There are colonies of Lesser Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros), Greater Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), Long-fingered bats (Myotis capaccinii)  and Common bent-wing bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) which is the biggest bat colony both in Bulgaria and in the Balkans. Dyavolskoto Garlo is one of the most significant bat shelters in Bulgaria. A guided tour begins every hour.