Меню
Туристически маршрути
ROUTE 4
Hiking trail for the spring and summer season:
Koshnitsa village – Trite tochki cave – Kaleto cave – Smilyan village. Total length: 5 km
Before you start for the trail we strongly recommend you to visit the only cave in the Municipality of Smolyan which has adjusted access – the “Uhlovitsa” cave. It is well-known as one of the underground palaces in the West Rhodope Mountains. The cave is in the list of the 100 national tourist sites of Bulgaria. It is situated 25 km to the south of Smolyan, 2 km. from the village of Koshnitsa. The altitude at the cave entrance is 1040 m above the see level. To get there you should walk about a kilometer uphill, and then to climb up 288 iron steps.
The entrance leads into the cool tunnel of the cave, where the temperature during the whole year is 10-11 degrees Celsius. Immediately after that is the hall of precipices, situated at the back side of the hall. The walls of the galleries are covered with beautiful formations reminding of coral flowers. There are two small ponds in the north part of the gallery. The “Brilliant” waterfall with its “rocky squirts” falls on the bigger pond. 460 m from the cave are explored. 330 m. are adjusted for tourist access and the biggest displacement is 25 m. The cave is opened for visitors in 1984 and you can visit it during the whole year.
After you go out of “Uhlovitsa” cave continue to the East to the village of Koshnitsa. We walk not more than 200 m and reach to “Trite tochki” cave (the three points). Access into the cave is possible only with guides-speleologists and special equipment as the cave presents a precipice. After climbing down the vertical abysm a horizontal gallery full of many beautiful karsts formations, preserved due to the difficult access, opens in a magnificent view.
From “Trite tochki” cave the path will bring you back to the village of Koshnitsa, and from there, following the north riverside you will go to the foothill of a mountain of peak. There is “Kaleto” cave – a protected natural site for the natural phenomenon it presents and for the ruins of Kaleto fortress on top of the cave arc. Go up the mountain slope and after 300 m. you will be under a huge rock arc. Climbing further up beneath the arc the path will bring you to the top of the hillw here the remains of an old fortification dating back to Roman times are still preserved. The archeologist excavations under the rock arc at the site of the fortification show that the area was inhabited in the Antiquity and later in middle Ages. The rocky arch was used as a natural defensive entrance of the fortress.
Here tourists can try one of the adrenaline attractions in the region – the “Alpine cradle”. After securing you with safety equipment, guides will let you fly ahead on a rope hanging from 40 m height: the panoramic view that will opens towards Arda river valley while you are in the air makes the experience unforgettable. From “Kaleto” passage cave follow the path through a beech forest and after 3 km you will reach to the village of Smilyan.
Smilyan village is known for being the place where the best kidney beans are grown, the latter being a traditional agricultural activity for the last two centuries. If you visit the Ethnographic exposition “Smilyan Kidney Beans and Traditional Rhodopean Slippers” you can learn more for these and for other traditions of this community. The exposition is situated on the second floor of the “Prof. Asen Zlatarov” Community Cultural Center (tchitalishte) in the village. In the same building is also the Visitors information center where you can find information about the biodiversity and the caves in the Upper Stream Valley of Arda River. In the center young and adults can learn more about the flora and fauna of the mountain through interactive modules and modern presentation technical equipment. There is a meeting hall for 20 people, suitable for educational trainings and workshops.
