Around Vratsa: The Vratsata Gorge, Ledenika Cave and Bozhiya Most
Walk west from Vratsa's town centre past the Tourist Hotel , to pick up the asphalt road which heads between the stupendous limestone teeth that form the Vratsata Gorge . You only have to venture about 2km out of town to savour the gorge at its awesome best: sheer, ragged cliffs plunging towards grassy riverbanks where locals come to sunbathe, graze their goats, or wash carpets. There are a couple of cafe-restaurants in the gorge bottom, one of which is attatched to the Alpiiski Dom , a training base used by rock climbers who regard the Vratsata Gorge as the most challenging cliffscape in Bulgaria. A little way beyond the Alpiiski Dom , the left-hand fork of the road heads for the timelessly rustic village of Zgorigrad , while the right-hand fork zigzags its way uphill before emerging onto a goat- and sheep-nibbled alpine plateau, rich in wild flowers and herbs. It's an area of inestimable tranquillity and beauty, offering great views towards Mt Okolchitsa to the south. If you follow all the road's twists and turns from the valley bottom to the plateau, it's about 10km, but you're far better off opting for the various paths and short cuts which dive through fields and forests on the way up - using the pylons of a disused chair lift to guide you - and working your way back onto the road whenever the going gets too steep. Vratsa-Milanovo buses come up the road (check the times at Vratsa bus station), making a ride up followed by a walk down an attractive option. However you reach the top, you'll soon pick up an asphalt track heading north across the gently undulating plateau towards the Ledenika cave ( Ledenichkata peshtera ; daily summer 8am-noon & 1.30-5.45pm; winter 9am-noon & 1.30-4.30pm; US$5), 4km from the edge of the plateau and 16km from central Vratsa by road. The cave gets its name from the icicles that form here during the winter - leden means icy - and its largest chamber has been dubbed the "Great Temple". It's also a popular breeding ground for bats . There's an eighty-bed hikers' hut , the Hizha Ledenika (tel 092/24411; US$9-18) near the mouth of the cave, and a couple of shacks selling drinks and snacks. Another geological curiosity can be seen from the minor road heading northeast from Vratsa, just outside the village of CHIREN : a rock tunnel about 25m wide, 20m high and 100m long, which locals call Bozhiya most - "God's Bridge".
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