Mogilitsa village, Smolyan
The area
The village of Mogilitsa, the town of Smolyan and the Rhodope Mountains: caves, lakes, bridges and old mansions around My Father’s House.
The village of Mogilitsa
The village lies 35 km southeast of Smolyan, 46 km from the ski resort of Pamporovo, 135 km from Plovdiv, 295 km from Sofia and only 5 km from the Greek-Bulgarian border.
Small as it is – 250 people at the last census – the village is an old cultural centre. The fates of people of different centuries, peoples, religions and cultures have met here, yet it has kept the spirit of the Rhodope Mountains and their warm, generous hospitality.
Mogilitsa lies on both banks of the Arda river. According to archaeological and historical data, Thracians, Slavs, Hellenes, Byzantines and many other peoples lived here, and the flame of life has never gone out.
The Agushev mansions
In 1834 the Agushev konak was built in Mogilitsa: a large feudal castle, the largest in the Balkans of its time, meant as a solid winter home for Agush Aga and his sons. Its building took 20 years, and it was a masterpiece of its time, with 221 windows, 86 doors and 24 chimneys, among Rhodope nature with a view over the meadows along the Arda and the forests above.
The konak is so big that today people speak of it in the plural – the Agushev konaks. It is a closed place of three courtyards, one after the other, separated by inner walls and surrounded by living quarters and farm buildings. The chimneys are tall, of dressed stone, most of them paired and joined by a vault. The rooms of the masters are wide and bright, with a fireplace in almost every one, and the windows have fine wooden lattices.
It is still not known why one of the rooms has double doors and walls: it has a channel built on purpose for overhearing the conversations in the room above. The whole building resembles the earlier family castles.
The caves
There are more than 20 caves around Mogilitsa. The most interesting is Uhlovitsa, in the area called the Blue Pools, 3 km east of the village on the left bank of the Arda. Inside are cascades of sinter pools up to 1 m deep, rock waterfalls and typical cave formations. Uhlovitsa is equipped for visitors.
Other caves nearby are Goluboitsa 1 and 2, the Red Cave near the village of Borikovo – the home of a brown bear, as local tales say – the Nadarska cave and Garga Dere, which can also be passed by water, an experience for those who like more extreme moments. Northwest of Mogilitsa, near the hamlet of Chereshkite, is Kaleto, an old fortress from the time of the Thracians, also used by the Slavs.
Rural and eco-tourism
Mogilitsa offers everything for rural and eco-tourism. The village has a tourist service centre that helps visitors and the growth of tourism. With its help and with the financial support of the EU programme PHARE, the region has been prepared for hiking and caving, and a mountain guide is available to everyone. There are several convenient routes: to the village of Arda, the village of Koshnitsa, the spring of the Arda river, the village of Bukata and the caves around, as well as to the other sights of the Central Rhodopes.
Smolyan
In the very heart of the mountain, scattered like the pearls of a necklace, lies the town of Smolyan. After the long, winding road from Plovdiv, a smiling town awaits you here and makes you quickly forget how tired you are.
This ancient and young, wise and cheerful town will charm you with its mix of old and new architecture, with the scent of lime trees at the start of summer, the colours of autumn and the white silence of winter. The resort of Pamporovo with its ski slopes is only 15 km away; and if you love the cosiness of home and the atmosphere of village life without giving up the nearness of a town, My Father’s House awaits you in the village of Mogilitsa.
Sights of Smolyan
- The Stoyu Shishkov History Museum
- The Art Gallery
- The Planetarium
- The Rozhen Observatory
- The Church of St Visarion of Smolyan
- The monument to Orpheus and Eurydice
…and many more.
The Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes have a gift for every sense: the eyes fill with colour, the ears with the song of mountain streams and the silver ringing of sheep bells, and the lips taste the crystal-clear water of countless fountains. The soul finds peace and joy.
Only when you see, hear, smell and feel the mountain do you understand that fairy tales exist and can be lived here, in the Rhodopes. This is the mountain of Orpheus and Eurydice, of lyrical and mythical heroes, the mountain of centuries of harmony between people and nature.
What you will find
The Wonderful Bridges
One of the hundred national tourist sites.
The Trigrad Gorge
A canyon more than 15 km long, with vertical stone walls over 300 metres high, cut by the wild Trigrad river.
The Devil’s Throat cave
Mysterious, enigmatic, and still keeping its secrets.
The Yagodina cave
The third longest cave in Bulgaria and the longest in the Rhodopes, on three levels with many galleries.
The Haramiyska cave
Near the village of Trigrad, for people with a climber’s spirit.
The Uhlovitsa cave
One of the underground palaces of the Rhodopes, only 3 km from Mogilitsa. One of the oldest caves in Bulgaria, unique for its 7 crystal pools.
The Smolyan lakes
On the left slope of the valley of the Cherna river, below the Orpheus Rocks and Snezhanka peak. There were once about 20; today 8 are well formed:
- Keryanovia Gyol
- Milushevia Gyol
- Silazha
- Osmanovia Gyol
- Lagera (the Camp)
- the Grassy Lake
- the Clear Lake
- the Muddy Lake
Pamporovo
The pearl of Bulgarian resorts, in the heart of the Rhodopes: 260 km from Sofia, 85 km south of Plovdiv and 15 km from Smolyan.
