Iskar River Gorge

bnr.bg, Veneta Nickolova, Margarita Dikanarova

Unlike most regions in Bulgaria, which, slowly but surely are emerging out of anonymity to make their mark on Europe’s tourist map, the northwestern parts of the country continues to be terra incognita not only to foreign tourists, but to many a Bulgarian too. Here, only half an hour’s drive from the capital Sofia, one finds himself in the midst of formidable rock formations, so much like fantastic figures of humans and animals. The Iskar River meanders at their feet.

The Iskar River Gorge and dozens of villages perched on sheer mountain hills stand away from the well-beaten tourist tracks, still safe from the onslaught of modern civilization. The narrow road, linking the capital Sofia to the district city of Vratsa is winding at the heels of wondrous rock masses and flower studded mountain meadows. In the environs of the town of Svoge there is a nature phenomenon called” The Jungle” where nature has indeed fashioned a veritable jungle out of stone. Nearby the village of Lyutibrod one is bound to come across another freaky rock creation, known as “ The Cart ladders”, rising to a height of 80 metres, and believed to be as old as 40 million years. The gorge is exceptionally picturesque off the village of Lakatnik, where upright rocks reach 250 m in height, and a number of caves studding their heels. One of them, “The Black Hole”, is said to be home of as many as 20 small lakes. In the environs of Bov Station the Skaklia Waterfall rushes down from a point 120 m high. The Iskar River Gorge is the starting point of mountain trekking trips in the “Vrachanski Balkan” National Park, offering excellent conditions for eco-tourism.
“Rural tourism has been picking up on a grand scale lately. A great number of tourist trails have been laid down, small privately-run hotels, some of them with swimming pools and water slides and shoots, have cropped up too”, says Ognyan Petrov, secretary to the local tourist club.
The villages of Pavolche and Chelopek, sitting at the bottom of the gorge, not far from the town of Vratsa, offer excellent conditions for recreation amid quiet and pristine clean air. The two villages are favourite destinations for overnight stops for foreigners, crossing the country as part of mountain tourism projects. Two small Eastern Orthodox monasteries are situated in the area- the Cherepish Monastery, whose Church of the Assumption hosts inestimable 17th c. mural paintings. High in the midst of steep mountain hills in the environs of the village of Eliseina stands the Monastery of the Seven Thrones, presumed to have come into existence in the 11th c. There are seven altars in its church where clerics can serve worshippers simultaneously, explains Ognyan Petrov and assures that the Iskar River Gorge is the rough diamond of Bulgarian tourism, whose potential is yet to be developed with, arguably, assistance from the EU
“Our hope lies in EU funds. We’re looking forward to the government adopting the operative programmes. In our capacity as a tourist association we are prepared to apply for financial assistance. The same goes for private businessmen, who’d like to promote tourism in the area. We need more investments in order to turn our part of the country into an attractive destination. Rock climbing, bouldering, cave tourism and water slalom on the river, can easily be practiced in the Iskar River Gorge. The two monasteries could form also attractive sites of religious tourism. But all in all, to achieve this, we do need assistance from the EU and investors”, said in conclusion Ognyan Petrov, Tourist Club Secretary.