Krushuna Waterfalls, The Green Rock and Devetashka cave – a nice day destination from Sofia

See the place:

Occupation: director of waterfall

When I was a small child if someone asked me what I want to work when I grow up I used to say my funny story how I will be a “director of waterfall”, so we always had a lot of laugh on this story. But when we arrived to Krushuna village, not far from Lovech town in Bulgaria, we saw a kiosk and a man that was selling tickets for the waterfall. And there was also a sign about the working time of the waterfalls.   Well, if there are staff and working time, probably there is a director as well. Oh, somebody beat me to be a director of a waterfall.

The crowds

We were close to Krushuna village, I hadn’t been there for a few years and I was surprised by the rush traffic to this small village. Apparently the beautiful waterfalls had become very famous. We stopped for a drink in the local pub  :)

We had not yet arrived when we got into the crowds. Before we headed to the waterfalls we had to cope with parking, buying tickets, etc. Some people got into a dispute with the ticket seller, I’m not sure why. Then together with the crowd we passed by a large dining area before finally reaching the beautiful waterfalls. Luckily they hadn’t changed.

Krushuna waterfalls

The biggest travertine cascade was formed by a small river springing from the cave Krushunska Maara. I have to mention that the term “travertine” confused me but a quick check showed that travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave. There are such rocks in Pamukkale, Turkey, as well. It sounds very complicated but it’s very beautiful. And the beautiful sights always attract many people. In that sunny day the tourists were everywhere – and us among them.

The Green rock waterfall

After a few unsuccessful attempts to take photos of the waterfalls we left defeated and agreed that we will come on a weekday. Just before the exit of the waterfalls area there is a path to another waterfall – The Green Rock. It is the highest waterfall in the area and it looked a little bit lonely compared to the other waterfalls. It is not as famous and it’s aside of the tourist routes which made us very happy. Under the cheerful green spray we waded into the ice-cold water. The waterfall is 20 meters high and springs from the nearby cave Urushka Maara. After getting a bit cold we returned to the tourist route and headed to the Devetashka cave.

Devetashka cave

We are now following the steps of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other great actors that were filming Expendables 2 in this cave in 2011. Since 1950 the cave was used as a secret military establishment and they stored oil there. Today you can still see the pedestals of the oil tanks. There was also a railroad for the deliveries. Today we are a bit more concerned about the wildlife and the access to the cave is forbidden in June and July. This is the breeding season of its inhabitants – several species of bats.

Lovech

Finally I have to mention Lovech which we visited in the evening. It appeared that there was a folk festival for Palm Sunday but it was more like a fair with people selling pottery, flowers, and Serbian grill. All in all, the grill was following us the whole day.

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