What a change in the weather again! After the cold and snow, Saturday and especially Sunday were warm and sunny and glorious! I spent Saturday on a tour around the fabric shops downtown and on Sunday we took the train to Lakatnik - a small village in the Balkan mountains, situated in the picturesque gorge of the river Iskar. The village is known for the interesting steep canyon walls and numerous caves, an attraction for climbers, speleologists and ordinary tourists.
As the day was absolutely gorgeous, the place was brimming. Climbers in action:
:The Iskar river has carved into the limestone a canyon, which is the main pass through the chain of the Balkans in this area.
: The lockdown was lifted from the cafes and restaurants at the beginning of the month and on such a warm Sunday the local cafe at the skirts of the rocks was full. It was nice to see people enjoying themselves, happy in the sun.
:The entrance to the Temnata Dupka (Dark Hole) cave. We had brought a fairly powerful flashlight and entered some 30 m into the cave with a group of other tourists.
: A colony of bats
: This cute little guy was hanging from the rock literally 30 cm from me and I hadn't noticed him, until the guide showed it to us.
:The trees in Sofia still haven't started to blossom and I was amazed to see trees in bloom in Lakatnik. Spring is definitely ahead there.
There were lots of late spring flowers, while the early flowers like snowdrops and crocuses had wilted.
The trail starts at the foot of the rocks and gradually climbs up to the top. And do not worry, I'm not sitting on the edge, there is a three layered terrace under, but I like the illusion of danger this picture creates :)
The views from the top of the rocks are magnificent - the endless chain of the Balkans, the meandering Iskar below and the steep canyon walls above it - it's breathtaking!
The road and the railway tracks follow the curves of the river through the pass
A memorial to the climbers and mountaineers, who have lost their lives
A memorial, built during the communist era, to the victims of the workers' revolt in 1923
Whta a cool place. That little house decoration in the mountain made me smile. You are so brave to not flinch around bats. I watched one of the nature series and it showed bats that crawled around to bite and suck blood from baby seals. I was creeped out and yet here I like fantasty books about vampires, LOL.
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