Around 50 km away from Sofia, in the gorge of river Iskar, there is a small village famous with the phenomenal cliffs that surround it - Lakatnik. This is the place where I spent my first night sleeping in a tent, here was my first rock climbing, first time exploring wild caves and first time swimming in really cold water in the beginning of the spring. And it is one of the places, that I've visited most in Bulgaria. Because of the variety of activities that the place offers and the small distance from Sofia it is popular and favourite destination for a quick one day or weekend nature recharge. And if you climb, it would be even supercharge, because of the unique contact with nature that climbing provides :) It is such a great sport!
This is the view of the village and the river from the cliffs.
2 weeks earlier - no green. Nature is quick :)
There are some steep paths,that starts from the main road near the village, leading to the wild caves, the climbing areas and to gorgeous view points of the whole gorge.
On the highest point is placed the Septemvriytsi monument - in memory of those who perished in the September Uprising of 1923. The panoramic view is spectacular but it is said that the fascist forces threw out the rebels into the abyss from this place, that's why the monument is there. Knowing that makes it a little bit creepy and people scared of height would definitely feel uncomfortable there.
The place is gorgeous for climbing, there are around 250 sport routes with spectacular views. It is an amazing activity to climb with that kind of spectacular views around you.
The place has its own unique micro climat and in the spring it often rains for short periods of time, which is not bad, just a quick refresh, time for selfie :) You can always hide under hide under the rocks or in some of the caves, although I doubt that the bats are happy with that :D
We are not alone on the rocks :)
The caves are also spectacular..or creepy. I've visited them only once with a speleologist guide. There is a big river flowing inside one of them, which we had to cross walking on a pipe high above it. It was pretty scary and too dark for pictures.
There are some great super beautiful spots for camping around the river Petranitsa
This is Proboinitsa Hut, it can be reached from Lakatnik with around 3 hours hiking
In the summer it becomes too hot for climbing except early in the morning, but the river Petranitsa creates some natural pools great for cooling down ( if you don't mind the fogs :D )
There are no shops, no restaurants, actually there isn't almost any kind of civilization around, just pure gorgeous nature. Except one outdoor place near the river, where they have their own fishponds, and they make only fish, french fries and salad. It looks awful, but their french fries are the best I have ever tasted.
And I am absolutely sure that you have never seen such kind of pots :D
But there are some decent hotels in Bov - a village next to Lakatnik, with great view :)
The next photos are not mine! I want to show you a little more. This is "The eagle's nest" Shelter built n 1937, it can be reached only by rope.
http://mapio.net/pic/p-80401126/
This cross is placed there in memory of all the climbers and mountaineers that had died around these rocks.
source - https://www.climbingguidebg.com/cdb.php?f=massiveinfo&idMassive=44
source - http://mapio.net/pic/p-80401126/
I Hope you've enjoyed the roaming around Lakatnik with me :)! Thanks for reading!