Description of the attraction
Lepenitsa Cave is located 12 kilometers from Velingrad, under the Syutka peak, in the west of the Rhodope Mountains. The cave, the depth of which is 1525 meters and located 975 meters above sea level, has three levels: an underground river flows on the lower floor, lakes on the middle (four lakes form in rainy weather, two in dry weather), the third floor is dry, but it is impossible to get there. … The air temperature in the cave is about +10 degrees.
The cave is full of stalactites, stalagmites and stalactons, creating bizarre compositions and figures. The Museum of Natural Sciences in Sofia exhibits cave pearls found in Lepenitsa, which is a unique natural phenomenon. The cave fauna is very diverse and interesting: 24 species of animals have been recorded, of which 6 are so-called troglobionts - animals that live only in caves. There are 6 species of bats living in Lepenice.
In the town of Rakitovo, 10 kilometers from which the cave is located, in 1930 a branch of the Speleological Society of Bulgaria was established, which was located in Sofia, to study Lepenitsa and other caves in the area. Earlier, in 1925-1927, Ivan Buresh - academician and head of the tsarist museums of natural sciences - conducted biospeleological research here. The first 400 meters of the cave's passages were mapped in 1931, but they began to study the cave thoroughly in 1973.
For about 50 years Lepenitsa remained closed to tourists, but today it is a very popular tourist destination. Lepenitsa Cave received the status of a natural landmark in 1960.
Now the cave can be visited by groups of no more than ten people with special equipment, under the guidance of an experienced guide. There are strict prohibitions in the cave - tourists cannot deviate from the paved routes, consume alcohol and drugs, smoke, and also touch the cave formations, especially damaging them.
