Bulgaria Archives • Neverending Journey

600 years old Wooden mosque and healing stones attract visitors in a remote bulgarian village

Veneta Nikolova22 August, 202222 August, 2022

by Veneta Nikolova22 August, 202222 August, 202201733

The wooden mosque in Podkova village is shrouded in mysteries. Podkova is another amazing old village in the folds of the Eastern Rhodopes, which ignited my imagination. The village does not shine with preserved architecture or natural beauties, but it’s hidden gems attract more and more tourists. The village of...

The village of Brashlyan – lost in the past

Veneta Nikolova29 September, 202125 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova29 September, 202125 March, 202002663

People in the village of Brashlyan still remember the times when the settlement was full of life and the local school found it hard to accommodate the kids from the area, willing to study. Now there are no more than 50 people left there. Silence and timelessness can be found...

Strandzha mountain – the mystical heart of Southeast Bulgaria

Veneta Nikolova30 July, 20216 February, 2026

by Veneta Nikolova30 July, 20216 February, 202605098

Strandzha is a mountain wrapped in mystery. It sits on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, about 120 km from Sofia and roughly 280 km from Burgas. From the seaside resorts, you can reach Strandzha in 3–4 hours by car. You won’t find a wilder spot in Bulgaria. Its paths barely weave through...

Explore the Deaf Stones Thracian Sanctuary (VIDEO)

Veneta Nikolova22 February, 202122 February, 2021

by Veneta Nikolova22 February, 202122 February, 202102828

The Deaf Stones (Guhite kamani) rock sanctuary shrine is one of the largest Thracian cult – burial complexes in the Rhodope Mountain (Southeast Bulgaria). The santuary dates from the early Iron Age (XII – VI centuries BC.) and was used during Antiquity and Middle Ages. Cultural layers, thick over 2.5...

Lakatnik rocks – a paradise for adventurers a day hike from Sofia

Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 202006844

The Lakatnik rocks are very popular among fans of nature and high adrenaline. Those Magnificent rocks soar on the eastern slope of the Iskar Gorge which swings among the folds of the Balkan Mountain Range.The unique natural formations resemble a rock garland which is 250 meters high. The whole region...

Koprivshtitsa: The Best Day Trip from Sofia (Top 7 Attractions)

Veneta Nikolova15 May, 20195 March, 2026

by Veneta Nikolova15 May, 20195 March, 202606184

I have visited Koprivshtitsa many times, and I honestly thought this picturesque mountain town had run out of ways to surprise me. I expected to find the usual crowds and souvenir shops, fearing it had finally sacrificed its authenticity to tourism. But I was wrong. On my last visit, I...

The mysteries of St. Anastasia Island

Veneta Nikolova18 May, 201625 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova18 May, 201625 March, 202003461

Ninety years ago, terrorists exiled on Bulgarian St. Anastasia island would have found it hard to imagine a future when they would be considered romantic celebrities and their prison had become a tourist haven. Sometimes history plays tricks of its own, which is why it can be good to look...

Zlatograd – Bulgaria ‘s golden city

Veneta Nikolova8 January, 201625 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova8 January, 201625 March, 202003199

Zlatograd has always been “the gateway to the wide world”. People here say this is where Bulgaria begins, and with good reason. A gentle breeze from the Aegean Sea reaches this small town on the country’s border with Greece. Through the ages Zlatograd has brought different cultures together . They...

The Devil ‘s Throat – Welcome to the kingdom of Hades

Veneta Nikolova29 October, 201525 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova29 October, 201525 March, 202005411

Stepping over its threshold into the millennia-old twilight, one is very vividly aware of being a helpless link in the endless chain of the Universe. And if you listen in to the roar of the masses of water vanishing into the bottomless maze you will surely stand in awe of...

Life of prayer in the Samokov convent

Veneta Nikolova30 October, 201425 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova30 October, 201425 March, 202002489

In the quiet yard of the Samokov convent, in the Bulgarian Rila mountain, there is an atmosphere of peace and quiet. When visitors step inside, they lower their voices as their souls fill up with calm. On a hot August morning the sun is beating down the monastery buildings...

On the trail of lost time: the submerged church of Zhrebchevo dam

Veneta Nikolova6 May, 201425 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova6 May, 201425 March, 202003205

It has been there more than 100 years, its lonely remains rising above the clear waters of the dam. In winter, the wind and the blizzards lash out at the building, ice freezing its foundations. In summer, the blazing sun mercilessly beats down on its age-old walls, the tumbledown roof and...

The mysteries of the Valley of Thracian Kings

Veneta Nikolova5 April, 201418 February, 2026

by Veneta Nikolova5 April, 201418 February, 202603408

The earliest traces of human presence in the environs of the town of Kazanluk in Central Bulgaria date back to the Neolithic age, i.e. 6th-5th millennium B.C. In latter years the Thracians settled permanently in those lands. A vestige of their advanced civilization are the numerous mounds, in which archaeologists discovered...