Day 7: Around Bulgaria in 14 days

Slowly, but gloriously we reach day 7. Once again we woke up very early, as we couldn’t wait to have breakfast and embark on the adventure of the day. For today we had planned a visit to the Pantheon “Mother Bulgaria”, “The Vazova trail”, a walk and an overnight stay in Vratsa. After breakfast we packed our luggage and drove away.

Pantheon “Mother Bulgaria”

Our first stop was the “Mother Bulgaria” Pantheon. The pantheon is a monument to those who fell for the victory of the Serbo-Bulgarian War at Gurgulyat. We departed from Sapareva Banya as our road passed through Pernik – Breznik and finally Gurgulyat. The road from Breznik to Gurgulyat was bad with many holes and bumps. I’m not sure if it was being repaired or just abandoned. If you are heading to Gurgulyat, I recommend that you take the Galabovtsi road, even if you need to take a short detour.

When we entered the village we saw the monument. It was built on the highest place in the village. The pantheon has the shape of a truncated quadrangular pyramid with a height of 20 meters and a width of about 25-30 meters on each side. In the center of the pyramid is a woman symbolizing Mother Bulgaria grieving for the lost children. The statue is made of high quality quartz stone. It was presented by Russia.

The village was small and picturesque, peaceful, but when I looked at the abandoned houses, it felt a little sad. When we were there we did not see other tourists. We didn’t actually see a single person. The village seemed desolate and abandoned over time, yet it was somehow beautiful.

Here you can see some of the photos we took of the place. I hope you like them.

Vazova trail

After admiring this wonderful Bulgarian place, we headed to the Vazova trail. We took the eco path from Gara Bov. Someone had painted a heart on the village sign inside Lu as well, so that LuBov (love in bulgarian) could be obtained. We found it very interesting and fun, but we lost the photo from the plate. By the time we reached the path, the weather was getting worse and we were expecting it to be overcast at any moment. Thunders were heard in the distance. This did not stop us and we started to climb the eco trail. Many of our friends had told us about this path and we wanted to follow in the footsteps of the poet Ivan Vazov. Here is some information about the trail itself.

It was renovated in 2007, many bridges were built and information boards were installed. The path starts from the house where the patriarch of Bulgarian literature lived for a while. Crossing the Iskar River, you reach Skaklya Falls in the land of the village of Zasele and end at the Zal Kamik overlooking the Iskar. Ivan Vazov repeatedly walked on the trail and drew inspiration from our beautiful nature. It is alleged that he wrote his story there, “Grandpa Jozo Looks” and several others.

Parking – small, I think there was room for 4-5 cars. It really wasn’t like a parking lot, just an extension of the road. We left the car and continued by foot. Because it was summer, there was pretty tall grass. At the very beginning of the trail we saw a small and very beautiful waterfall (you will see it in the gallery). We took some pictures and then passed on a wooden bridge. After that there is a cave on the right side. I really wanted to go see it, but the fear was more, because of the grass that surrounded the entrance. And how do I know that Katya (the bear) is not hiding there? We continued to the left and started climbing. The weather was getting worse and we were wondering if we should continue. We decided to get to Skaklya Waterfall at least. The trail becomes quite steep, but not dangerous. When we arrived we stopped for a break, took some pictures and a quick drone flight. The waterfall is 141 meters high and is the highest continuously flowing waterfall in Bulgaria. While taking pictures with the drone, the weather got worse and the thunderstorms increased. We still had a little way to the top, but we decided to give up, which turned out to be the right decision, given the torrential rain that comes out minutes later.

After getting to the car, we headed to Vratsa. Naturally, our road passed through the Vratsa Balkan. It was the first time we went through this place. It’s so beautiful, we wanted to stop for photos every 200 meters. Unfortunately, this could not happen because it rains so much that we have to stop several times and wait for the rain to decrease. However, when the rain went, we managed to take another picture:

The photo shows the beauty of the Vratsa Balkan just after the rain.

Vratsa

We are now at the last stop of the day. We stayed at the hotel, rested for a few hours and went out to explore the city. Vratsa is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria. The city is the starting point for many caves, waterfalls and interesting rock formations. The first thing we visited was the newly built Dubnika Park. We shot it with a drone and it actually looked really interesting from a high altitude. Later we headed to the center. We wanted to see the impressive 12-meter monument of Hristo Botev there. It was opened on June 2, 1964 and is made of bronze and gray granite. The sculptor is Vladimir Ginowski and is considered the most successful performance of Botev’s image. The monument is part of a sculptural and architectural ensemble comprising a square, a stylized lion, a fountain and lawns by the architects Delcho Sugarev and Ivan Ivanchev.

Unfortunately, this was also where our drone crashed. Circling around the monument, I was unable to stop the drone from hitting the top of one of the trees. The interesting thing is that it fell near the inscription “The one who falls in the fight for freedom, he does not die.”

In the evening, we strolled through the city center, drank lemonade, ate some junk food and went back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest.