The Arda River rises in the vicinity of the village of Gorna Arda, near the Bulgarian border with Greece, and winds its way through the beautiful valleys and canyons of the mid-section ofthe majestic Rhodope Mountains. The views of the hills studded with stone villages, the protruding minarets of the mosques and the shining domes of the churches, the crystalline air and the silence evoke a feeling of peace and timelessness.
The upper reaches of the Arda River are well developed for the purposes of tourism. Guest houses, restaurants, visits to organic farms with dairy product tastings, mountain bike tours, horse riding, jeep safaris - here you can feel like a discoverer and raise your adrenaline in the wild.
"The newest attraction at the moment is the panoramic platform "The Peak" near the village of Mogilitsa”, says Rumen Romanov from the municipality of Smolyan. “It is located at 1,350 m above sea level, it is built on the edge of a rocky peak and visitors can walk on a metal structure on which there is a wooden path. Finally, they reach the glass-reinforced transparent part and can look down into the abyss beneath their feet. There are two ways to get there - by foot or with a jeep”.
The aerial platform is located 9 km from the centre of the village of Mogilitsa, which is a real Rhodope pearl, with the typical architecture of this area. Here you can stay in a guest house and enjoy handmade fabrics or the works of local master woodcarvers. You will see on the spot how the cattle are milked and how yogurt or cheese is prepared.
Rumen Romanov has more suggestions for what to see and experience in the area of the upper reaches of the Arda River.
Not far from the village of Mogilitsa is the cave "Kaleto". At its entrance, you will be fitted with a helmet, tied tightly and "launched" into the abyss from a 40-metre-high stone vault.
"There are new attractions right in this area, such as the "Swing". With one rope, you roll yourself over the abyss and then you swing over it”, explains Rumen Romanov. “The late antiquity fortress "Koshnitsa" is nearby. The place is at an altitude of 1,200 m. We also have caves. The most famous among them is Uhlovitsa cave.
The cave in the Garga Dere canyon is also very interesting. It is a water cave and is relatively young. In places inside, the water reaches as high as a person’s waist. It is called Golubovitsa and people enter it with special boots. From one hall to the other you can go on an inflatable boat, which is a curious experience.”
After visiting the underground kingdom of the Rhodopes, you can fly in the air above Garga Dere gorge with the help of the alpine trolley installed at the entrance to Golubovitsa cave. Thus, you will float in the air 20 metres above the Esenska River before landing on its opposite bank.
And don't miss a stop at the nearby Agushevi konatsi (Agush Agha's Konaks), Rumen Romanov recommends. The incredible complex of residential and farm buildings is the largest mediaeval castle in the Rhodopes, built at the beginning of the 19th century. Nowadays, the imposing architectural ensemble has been restored and turned into an ethnographic museum.
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