Erma River winds between the mountains crossing the border between Bulgaria and Serbia, forming a beautiful canyon. Erma’s canyon in Bulgaria is one of the most popular local day destinations.
On the car park near the river we were met by the noise of a generator. But you can buy a beer cooled in the creek from the “kiosk” (this is a highly exaggerated word for this place where you can buy a beer), as well as “kebapche”, “kyufte” with “lyutenitsa” and chilly peppers. The whole lawn is renovated and full of places for BBQ. But this type of civilization is not what we are looking for. Luckily our journey along the river was a more pleasant meeting between human and nature.
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From one side of the rocks
The path is taking us to a wooden bridge standing by miracle. As far as I remember, it has been there for years. Because of the rains this year the river is deeper than it was on my previous visit. We crossed the bridge and greeted some other tourists we met there.
The Tunnel
Having crossed the river we climbed on the other bank. We found ourselves in front of a 300m long tunnel in the limestone rocks. This tunnel was built by Bulgarians and Germans in the early 20th century for the construction of a narrow-gouge railway. But after the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, the project was stopped.
On the other side of the rocks
If you follow our steps you have to be careful not to miss the sign leading to the other beautiful bridges of the Tran eco-path. It is just after the tunnel. Here we stopped to enjoy the nature and the spectacular view.
October 2014
My favourite photo:
“St. Petka” church in the rocks
Don’t miss to visit the rock-hewn church “St. Petka”. According to the legend, the orthodox saint St. Petka was hiding here while chased by nonbelievers in the 10th century. I recommend you to go there and hear the story from the local people.
