ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS
Over 83 per cent of its area are on the Bulgarian territory, the remaining is in Greece.
It is located in the most southern part of the country. With its highest peak-
Golyam Perelik (2191m) it occupies the 7 th place among the Bulgarian mountains.
The Rhodopes Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in Bulgaria.
Very interesting are the Karst areas with their deep river gorges, large caves and specific sculptured forms –
Trigrad Gorge, the caves
Devil's Throat,
Uhlovitsa,
Yagodinska , the
Wonderful Bridges.
CLIMATE AND BORDERS
The location of the Rhodope in the southeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula determines to a great extent the climate here. It is influenced both by the colder air coming from the North and by the warmer breeze from the Mediterranean.
The average annual temperature in the Eastern Rhodope is 12-13oC, the maximum value of precipitation is in December, the minimum is in August. In the Western Rhodope the temperature varies with 5 to 9oC and the summer rainfalls prevail.
The mild climate combined with some other factors works in favour of the development of recreation and tourist activities.
The
Pamporovo resort is an excellent example, where the microclimate permits a fat snow cover to be preserved for a long time – a real Paradise for skiing.
To the North is the valley of the
Maritsa river, to the South- the White sea plain, to the West – the valley of the
Mesta river, the
Avramovi Kolibi saddle,
Lyuta Reka, the
Yundola Saddle and the river Yadenitca, to the east- the valleys of Borovitza and
Arda rivers.
The Rhodope are spread over 14 737 sq.km of which 12 233 sq.km. are on Bulgarian territory. The mountain is about 220 km long and about 100-120 km wide with an average altitude of 785m.
The best conifer woods in Bulgaria are in the Rhodopes.
15 reserves have been established, some of these are included in the list of UNESCO.
There are many mineral water springs, the most faumous are in
Velingrad and
Narechen.
WESTERN RHODOPES
The bigger part (66% of the total area), the higher, more developed and visited part of the mountain. The highest and best known peaks are also here (more of 10 are over 2000m) including the leader-
Golyam Perelik (2191m). Among the interesting peaks are
Shirokolushki Snezhnik (2188),
Golyam Persenik (2091),
Bataski Snejnik (2082), the wonderful
Turla (1800).
Some of the deepest and most picturesque river gorges are here too - the
Trigrad,
Byunovsko, of the
Mostova Sushitca River. The Rocky phenomenon
Wonderful Bridges, the
Chaira Lakes and the Dams
Dospat,
Batak,
Shiroka Polyana,
Iglika,
Toshkov Chark excellently fit into the environment.
The architecture reserves
Shiroka Luka,
Kovachevitza,
Momchilovtsi,
Kosovo, and many other interesting villages are in the Western Rhodope too.
The city of
Batak is also located here as well as the large tourist centers
Smolyan,
Velingrad,
Devin,
Chepelare, the winter resort of
Pamporovo, the Christian sanctuary
Bachkovo Monastery, the ruins of
Assenov fortress, the caves
Devils Throat,
Iagodinska and many others.
The highest village in Bulgaria-
Manastir (over 1500m) is crouched in the northern foot of the
Prespa peak.
The famous building
Agushevi konatsi is here-in the village of
Mogilitza, immediately to the south of
Smolyan.
There are no chalets, but nearby
Smolyan offers lodging and foot.
EASTERN RHODOPES
Spread over a territory of about 34% of the whole area of the mountain. This is a much lower part .
Here are the large artificial dams
Kardjali and
Studen kladenets that together with the rivers
Borovitza and
Varbitza offer great opportunities for water tourism.
The Region is rich in thermal mineral springs.
Djebel has national reputation for healing many different diseases.
"Belite brezi", with their fresh mountain air, is an important healing center for respiratory and other ailments.
The Eastern Rhodope are much more populated than the Western.
Here are the major cities of
Haskovo and
Kardjali as well as the smaller
Momchilgrad,
Krumovgrad,
Kirkovo.
The larger rivers in the Rhodopes are:
Maritsa,
Mesta,
Struma,
Dospat,
Vutcha,
Chepelarska and many others.
Description
