“The Miraculous Bridges – Erkyupria”
This is a unique natural phenomenon, consisting of three naturally-formed bridges above the small river Aidarsko dere, which form one of the most spectacular rocky phenomena in the Rhodopi Mountain. It was described already in 1896, and later on, in 1900, information about it was also published by Shkorpil brothers. The river forms a short but beautiful gorge.
The Miraculous Bridges are one of the most interesting natural phenomena, situated in the Central Rhodopi Mountain, on the bank Chernatitsa. Their latitude is 1450 m, and the Bridges are located 35 km north-west from Chepelare. The Miraculous Bridges are enormous marble arches which connect the two banks of the river Dulbok Dol, flowing from Mount Golyam Persenk (2091 m) through century-old fir and pine woods.
The phenomenon is interesting not only with its impressive look, but also with the story about its origins. A former cave in the marble typhon, formed by the waters of river Dulbok Dol, has collapsed. The waters have carried away the fallen splinters, thus forming two rarely beautiful natural rocky bridges.
The first and bigger bridge is 96m long and 70m high. Its arch rises 45m above the crystal clear river. The marble block from which it is formed is around 12-15m wide. A road passes over it. In its walls there are two interconnected caves, and a number of Karst holes serving as a shelter for many birds and bats.
About 200m lower is the Second Bridge which looks like a long tunnel with its length of 60m. Its total height is 50m, and the arch itself is 30m. The Bridge starts with a relatively wide opening, which narrows down gradually until turns into a crack. Towards the lower end of the Bridge the river suddenly disappears and flows again to the surface after 1.5 km. Close to the front of the Second Bridge is the entrance of the Icy Cave, in which ice remains until late in the summer. The rocky precipices of the bridges are overgrown with wild geranium and Haberlea rodopenzis.
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Topic : Landscapes and nature
Published on : 2008/10/10
Tags : miraculous bridges erkyupria
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