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Bulgaria: Road trip Bulgaria, Day 3: From Plovdiv to Sofia

Vacation around 1st of May has lately been reserved for road trips and so was this year. On our 3rd day we drove from Plovdiv to Sofia and on our way we visited many interesting places.

After leaving Plovdiv, our first stop was Bachkovo Monastery, founded in 1083 by Prince Gregory Pakourianos. We continued along the Chepelare river to the city Devin, where we had lunch and then we hiked to Samodivsko praskalo waterfall. We made a short detour to Mihalkovo naturally carbonated mineral water springs and then we drove along the Vacha river with many high dams, used for hydro power plants. We switched the valley again, visited Batak reservoir and in Kostandovo, we hiked to the local hill, from where Rok and me flew to the valley. We ended the day in the capital, Sofia.

Previous days of Bulgaria road trip: Day 2, Day 1.

Entrance to the Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos

 

The monastery is known and appreciated for the unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian culture, united by the common faith.

Entrance ticket to a museum, where some of the oldest artifacts connected with the history of the monastery are on display.

The monastery was founded in 1083 by Prince Gregory Pakourianos, a prominent statesman and military commander in the Byzantine service, as a Georgian-dominated Orthodox monastery.

Although the monastery survived the first waves of Turkish invasion in Bulgarian lands, it was then looted and destroyed, but restored near the end of the 15th century.

The church St.Arch Angels Michael and Gabriel is the oldest church in the inner part of the monastery estate.

Bachkovo monastery is the second largest monastery in Bulgaria.

 

Time to leave the complex and move on

Monument in the Chepelare valley

Driver Tuši and navigator Nada

 

Exploring the spa city Devin

Devin is located in the valley of the Vacha River. Between 1878 and 1886, Devin formed a part of the short-lived and unrecognised Republic of Tamrash, an entity created by the local Pomaks who rejected the creation of Eastern Rumelia (to which it would have belonged). 

Lunch time

Our ride to the waterfall

  

Easy hike to the Samodivskoto praskalo waterfall

 

Samodivskoto praskalo waterfall, known also as "Struilski dol" is one the highest and most beautiful waterfalls in the Rhodope Mountains.

Katja and Miha

  

The waterfall is situated at 897 m altitude and is a cascading waterfall with a total height of about 45-50 m.

View from above

Water from Mihalkovo naturally carbonated mineral water springs. The spring near the village of Mihalkovo is one of the four places in Europe, where naturally carbonated mineral water springs.

Vacha Reservoir - the Vacha Dam is a concrete gravity structure of 144.5 metres height, making it the tallest dam in Bulgaria. Its pumped storage power plant has a capacity of 160 MW.

Short stop above the Vacha Reservoir

 

Small church near the reservoir

Vacha valley. River Vacha is the second largest river that has its source in the Rhodopes after the Arda.

View from the 105 metres high Krichim Dam

The dam supports the 80 MW Krichim Hydro Power Plant.

 

Our squeaky van was doing its job

 

Krichim Dam holds 20 260 000 m³ of water

Organizer Rok and Batak Reservoir

Its area is 22 km2 and its volume is 309 000 000 m³

 

We moved on towards Kostandovo

View from the local hill to Kostandovo

Rok and me prepared our gliders

 

Ready to take off

My first flight in Bulgaria

Great end of the day

GeoCaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "Siebasiach's Figure Eight Geocoin", TB735HE, "Sanban s1", TB42DJW and "Julia ud Zweeenes 100000 Caches", TB35GHN):
- Chinar Bachkovo Monastery, GC2BYK2
- Road junction to the Wonderful bridges, GC5BJNZ
- Samodivsko Praskalo Waterfall, GC4WVQV
- Carbonated Water Spring, GC7WBZW