On the road...with Albena: The youngest village in Strandzha :)

Dedicated to Vanya Andonova...the youngest spirit I know J

On 22 September, Bulgaria celebrates its Independence Day, a very important date from the calendar, which marks the official separation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire, ten years after the Liberation from the Turks. As you can guess, this is an official holiday and this year we celebrate it whole four days. The reason I’m telling you this is that we decided to use these days for a trip inside the Strandzha Mountains.

The main road Burgas - Malko Tarnovo

As a typical border mountain, Strandzha is not very popular to the tourists and thanks to that fact it stayed untouched and preserved. Not so long ago, the only people who were allowed to visit it were from the border police and the people who lived there. Strandzha is maybe the most mysterious mountain in Bulgaria, where you can find traces from the time of the Thracians, Romans and many more civilizations. The exploration of the mountain is in an opening stage and the most of its secrets are still hidden. The legends and myths, the different religions and the great variety of cultures will make Strandzha Mountains one of your favorite destinations, I can promise you that.

7 km from the main road

The entrance of the village

The Hotel

For a start I’ll tell you about the charming village of Mladezhko, located only 55 km from Burgas. This was the place where we decide to stay and use as a base camp J Don’t expect too much civilization, because you won’t find it. The name of the village in translation means youth, but unfortunately there are no young people there. In fact the village has only 15 residents and all of them are not so young but I can say that their spirit is. The village has just one hotel but it is quite good and in addition to the great accommodation, there is also a SPA center – very nice one J So if you decide to stay in the hotel, when you enter the village, just turn right and after a 50m you’ll be there.

The main landmark of the village is the river with the same name and hold on, its spring J This is your chance to take a sip of a pure mountain water from the very beginning of the river. The eco trail to the spring is light one and it takes around half an hour in the one direction. The path is following the river, where are constructed several wooden bridges and the whole atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing.

The meadow where begins the eco trail

The start of the eco path is in green meadow at the end of the village where you will find a big fountain with spring water and a few tables and benches – a perfect place for picnic. Very interesting fact is that the water from the river is healing one, when you swim in it but there is a catch – it is ice cold. So if you can bear the freezing maybe you will heal your bones and nervous system J

The fountain with the healing water

The shelter with the fire place

Just over the springs are the remains of the largest early Byzantine fortress in Strandja – The Great Kale. Throughout the region there are 19 caves. The longest one is The Kale - 302 meters, and the shortest – The Pen - 9 meters. Other famous caves in the area are Leyrnitsite and Brezhanka, where are found traces proving that they have been used since the most ancient times.

Take left to the Great Kale and right to the spring

The path to the Kale

The numerous caves to the springs of the river are inhabited by multiples colonies of bats. Strandzha Mountains is very important for the protection of the bats in Bulgaria - here are found 24 of all identified 33 species in the country. Among the rocks west of the village formerly nested Egyptian Vulture - increasingly rare species for the country and Europe, but despite nourish, carried out by environmentalists in recent years has not been observed.

At the foot of the fortress

The Kale

The magnificent view from above

If you feel like you want a longer route, take the round eco path from the village of Mladezhko to the village of Evrenozovo but consider that it is 15 km long. This is comparatively new trail and along it is built a large cover, bridges over the river, an observation tower and a platform. The observation tower and the interesting wooden castle in the Big Kale area allow panoramic observation of the region and the pleasure of taking in the beautiful scenery around. You will feel like you are on the top of the world and this is a perfect place to clear your mind and soul.