Magical Rhodopes, Kardzhali region, Bulgaria

Greetings, fellow travelers!

Today I would like to tell you more about Rhodope mountain and its beauties. As Rhodopes, as we call them, is a big range that cover a big part of the territory of Southern Bulgaria, I will focus of few places, I would call them travel destinations in the administrative region of Kardzhali that are a must-see if you find yourself near the city of Kardzhali.

I can use a bunch of adjectives about those places and sightseeing locations, like beautiful, awesome, divine, magical, mystical, serene, peaceful and even if I continue and add all those that pop up in my head, they will still be insufficient to describe what I felt when I was visiting them!

Let me put a small note to all travelers who get inspired by my visual story today - these locations I am about to describe today, look close to each other on the map but as all the roads in the region and quite curvy and some of them very narrow you should keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to go to each of these locations. I can tell from my own experience that the average driving speed is less than 50 km/h, even slower when you decide to stop and check every beautiful place and take some photos :) Yup, that's my thing, heheh :)

Another great advantage of those amazing Rhodope mountains is that we have here four full seasons! So whatever your favorite season is - spring, summer, autumn or winter, you have enough time to travel during it ;) My favorite seasons are spring and autumn, because of the colors and the dynamics of the sky, also, the shorter day as it allows me to see the sunsets and the sunrises earlier :)

All the photos below I took in the middle of May or said with other words, in the middle of the spring :) Such vivid and saturated colors, don't you think?

We were looking for and searching for smaller natural details too, not only the "big picture". Flowers, wild plants, trees, etc.

The flocks of sheep, peacefully feeding on the hills.

Lowering down the car window, I could smell the strong aroma of the wild thyme.

Such beautiful wild flowers, blooming all along our curvy roads.

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Our first destination for the day was the rocks phenomenon called "The Stone Weddings", next to the village of Zimzelen. It is a short hike from where you could park the car but better take proper hiking shoes as there are steep and slippery slopes. We took a rest, under the shadows of few birch trees ;) Birch tree forests always fascinate me, they are so elegant with their white, tall and slim trunks, they are like fashion models, hehehe!

It could have been a 5 minutes hike if I wasn't stopping to take photos along the path!

Finally we got there. We saw the two groups of sediment rock formations, the whites, forming the first group and the "bride and groom" forming the second one. It was a time to browse around and search for new angles and perspective. I've been few times to this place. As the rocks are very soft, each year I go, I see different landscapes and shapes as the rains and snows slowly change everything around. Actually, not so slowly. Who knows, probably in few decades or centuries, all the shapes around will be leveled down to the ground. Indeed, a very soft material!

The plants growing around, bushes, herbs, trees, all create an amazing contrast with the white soil of small pebbles...

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It seems Mother Nature was not only a great sculptor but also a talented woodcarver ;)

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I believe we spent around at least two hours, but who's counting ;)

I was enjoying the wedding ceremony and the bridesmaids dressed in white from many perspectives and angles as they were very willing to pose for me :)

Speaking of shapes, some of those around are really extraterrestrial, aren't they?

Probably a natural stage for a future Star Wars movie? :)

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Time to go to our next planned destination for the day - the rope bridge over Arda river, giving people access, pedestrian only, between the villages of Suhovo and Snezhinka. Steep mountain slopes, so no driving, ten-fifteen minutes hiking down and then up back to our car. Of course, after spending at least an hour walking the bridge in both directions.

House roofs, covered with stone tiles, breathtaking views and crystal clear air.

I guess it won't come to you as a surprise if I tell you I made hundreds of photos here :)

Finally we stepped upon the rope bridge :)

I can only imagine visiting this place when there is thick fog - the bridge would then disappear into the nothingness :)

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After taking some more time and delving deep into the serenity of the place it was time to hike back up to the car:

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The last planned stop/activity for the day was to meet the sunset at the most famous meander on Arda river, next to the village of Ribartsi. It wasn't the best sunset I've seen from there, but the shared moments of beauty, silence and peace, along the amazing views from the spot were unforgettable!

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Copyright: Damian Hadjiyvanov, Light Captured
For licensing my photos, please drop me a message on Discord: lightcaptured#2698

Have a great day, stay safe, stay strong and let your muse be always on your shoulder!