Nearly half of protected flora in Bulgaria can be found in “Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park

published on 10/5/12 12:20 PM

Photo: www.vr-balkan.net

The “Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park is a unique place characterized by great biodiversity and beautiful karst formations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has included the park in its list of protected areas. The territory of the park is covered with limestone, which is one of the reasons for its uniqueness. The park includes the Vratchanska Mountain and the massif of the Lakatnishki cliff rocks. The Vratchanska Mountain is part of the Stara Planina mountain range and is divided by three rivers – Leva, Cherna, and Zlatica. The highest peak of the mountain is Beglichka Mogila - 1481 meters.

The Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is a paradise for cave explorers, as unique in their beauty caves and chasms can be found here. Their total number is above 500 and one of the most popular of them is the Ledenika Cave, which is a tourist site of international importance. During the winter the cave is covered with magnificent ice decorations, which gave the cave’s name. There are other interesting caves that attract tourists such as Temnata dupka (Dark hole), Zmejova dupka (Dragon’s hole), Haidushka chasm, and others. In the region a rock massif that people call the Dolomites is often the venue of international climbing competitions.

The “Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park is the second largest of the country’s parks after the Strandzha Park in Southeastern Bulgaria. Expert Tsvetan Tsvetkov told us more about the biodiversity.

“When I started working in the park many years ago the known plant species found here were about 1100. 400 more have been discovered since then, which makes a total of 1500 different species. There are more than 300 protected plant species out of a total of 550 in the whole country. A number of plant species that are typical for the Mediterranean can be seen here due to the limestone formations. The most interesting local endemic species is Centranthus kellereri. This bush is found only in the Vrachanski Balkan Park. We have preserved seeds of the plant in our special gene bank,” the scientist says.

Beautiful beech forests can be seen in Vrachanski Balkan, as well as oak, acacia species and others. The fauna of the park is also interesting. More than 138 different protected animal species can be seen here. 21 of them are included in the Bulgarian Red Book. The rock caves are ideal haven for bats. 190 different species of bats can be seen in the region, as well as 100 different bird species, including the rock eagle, Egyptian vulture and others. There are also 34 different mammal species. Wolves are the most numerous one.

Rivers in the park do not have constant flow and often vanish in the limestone. Some 176 small waterfalls can be seen around, contributing to the atmosphere of the mountain. The Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park offers great opportunities for the development of tourism and sports in the region. Cultural tourism can also attract tourists to this place, where the incredible Rogozen Thracian gold treasure was also discovered.

English version: Alexander Markov

По публикацията работи: Maria Dimitrova-Pichot

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Nearly half of protected flora in Bulgaria can be found in “Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park

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