Yagodina Cave

Overview

The Yagodina Cave is located in the Buynovo Gorge near the Rhodope village of Yagodina. It is one of the most famous and most-visited caves in Bulgaria. Its galleries extend to a length of 8,501 meters, which makes it the 4th longest cave in Bulgaria and the longest in the Rhodopes. The temperature in the cave is between 6 and 8 degrees all year round, and it has a humidity of more than 90% (as do most caves).

The standard tourist route is 1100 meters long. The gallery where visitors begin their itinerary is known as New Year’s Hall. Here spelunkers and their guests from neighboring regions gather to welcome the new year, and they also put up a real Christmas tree in the hall. The next hall is The Wedding Chapel, where couples can exchange their matrimonial vows. It is fitted with an altar and attractive wall decorations to lend the hall a more ceremonial appearance.

The itinerary continues for another kilometre, affording visitors the opportunity to observe almost every type of cave formation, but most impressive are the many cave pearls. They are formed as real pearls are, beginning with grains of sand that fall into the water and then are are coated with layer after layer of calcite, year after year, which is how they become round.