The Heavenly World of Trigrad – Below and Above Ground

Garlo (Devil’s Throat) Cave, Yagodinska Cave, Trigrad, Bulgaria
By Radoslav Raikov

We are in the Rhodope Mountains. We passed by Devin, famous for its mineral water, and head for the village of Yagodina. The road meanders in sharp turns through the Rhodope Mountains, which in these parts resemble the Rila Mountains. Soon we reach the crossroads to the village and the cave. Six of the most beautiful miles in Bulgaria lay ahead of us, awaiting, and at the same time – the most dangerous ones for the drivers. Gradually the road gets narrower, pushing its way through the cliffs that hang over it and squeeze it from both sides – high sheer cliffs, cut into huge blocks, all in bushes and trees.

Down in the precipice runs the Buinovska River, making its way through the mighty mountain ridge. We reach the so-called “wolf’s jump” where the cliffs bend over the bus only 3-4 yards away. The legend has it that in wintertime, wolves pass by at this spot, jumping from one hillock to the other. The wet jagged cliffs are all around us, and then loom all of a sudden in front of the bus, behind the last turn, leaving one with the feeling of an imminent crash. Small waterfalls, born by the recent downpours, cut through the rocky surface of the cliffs. The countryside here is marked by the karsts and hence rich in underground galleries, only partly explored.

All of a sudden, the entrance to the Yagodinska Cave reveals itself before our eyes, so small that we can hardly see it. Inside is cold…and yes, definitely beautiful! Out of the six miles of underground galleries, only one is open to the public. They spread along three levels, but visitors are led through the third, the lower and deepest one. The cave corridors go up and down, at certain spots bending below cliffs only a yard high, while at others we have to go sideways, then squeeze by and move on. Iron staircases ease our way, especially above the ancient landslide where enormous moraine-like parts of rocks lay scattered on the ground. Stalactites, stalagmites, stalactites, hangings…and water that trickles everywhere. Often the cave ceiling rises up to a height bigger than the halls we passed through – slit by cracks, it rises hundreds of yards high above us. In the Yagodinska cave one can see the famous “cave pearls”, shaped by the water that has been for centuries, forming sediments around small hard particles. The most spectacular attraction in the cave, however, is called “the cave people” and is created by the visitors themselves. Due to the steep slant, all have to bend their heads and look down to the ground while sidelong projectors light up their figures and display the shadow of their stooping bodies on the wall ahead. The so-produced resemblance to our forefathers is indeed impressive.

Finally we see light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve spent an hour in the earth’s womb. We go out of the cave and then another 800 yards back to the start. Being outside, one can hardly imagine that s/he has just been through this “wound” in the ground behind these massive rocks, firmly gripped by moss, lichens and resilient shrubs. We reach the place where the entrance to the cave stands.

Without losing more time, we head for the Dyavolskoto Garlo (Devil’s Throat) Cave. It is only a mile away from the village of Trigrad. Soon the bitumen road starts to push its way through the Trigrad gorge again. The peaks of the Trigrad gorge reach up 200-250 yards high, almost lacking any vegetation except the phenomenal Rhodope pine trees, each 5-10 feet high, perched as if by miracle on every edge or rocky terrace of the gorge’s steep slopes. The road crawls on the fringe of the abyss, with the Trigrad River flowing somewhere far down below us, and on the other side the monumental granite slopes rise up so close to the road that they almost push the bus off the track down the abyss. This place has wild austere beauty, defying all descriptions. Words fail us and leave this miracle of nature only to the eyes. The cliffs impress us with their height, their rocky bodies all in cavity and caves, hallowed in arches by the course of time.

The “Devil’s Throat” is a typical abysmal cave, with an enormous gallery at the pit of a waterfall that crashes down from 60 yards height. Because of the closed space, the roar of the waterfall is deafening. The tourist lectures are held outside since nothing except the water’s thunder can be heard inside. There, at the end of the huge and only cave hall starts a staircase that climbs up the rocks of the waterfall so that the latter can be seen from above. The water can hardly be seen in its speedy downward flight, hiding behind the rocks where it flows, but still there are moments when we can fully enjoy its magnificence. Climbing this staircase is like going up a 12-storey block of flats. The steps are so narrow and so steep that one often gets the feeling of falling back, with the rusty rail as the only rescue. We are almost out of breath when a patch of blue sky flashes before our eyes. We thread the final yards and find ourselves in a true rock-garden of cliffs. Shrubs and a cloud of water splashes from the river frothing down below us. It is so damp all around that the crags are almost fully covered by moss, tufts of grass, weeds and nettle, which of course we better stay far from. Finally, we follow down the same track and get back on the road that continues twisting through the natural cove of the granite cliffs.

The village of Trigrad itself is a charming place, 2,800 feet above sea level. Our bus stops in front of one of the two taverns. Here we have our dinner and accommodation is in two neighboring houses. The fireplace is lit and our hosts are waiting for us. Everything is home-made and tastes somehow different. The landlady’s daughter shows us around our rooms. One wouldn’t expect much of a luxury at such a place and may be that is why we are nicely surprised by what we see.

Next morning we are greeted by a fog that now and then reveals the magnificent view seen from the village. We take our breakfast in the tavern from the day before. We have the famous katmi (a traditional Bulgarian pancakes) with bowls of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry jam. For city people there is nothing tastier than that and when the owner brings in some cheese, we get to know that he has been in the diary business for 30 years.

The road back to the capital city of Sofia is long, going down steeply and in sharp turns. On the way, between the scattered villages, people have put on display their home-made production, arranged on tables on the sides of the road. The main things on offer are the famous “smilyan beans” and all sorts of jam – including green nuts and white or red rose jam. This is definitely the right moment to buy some tasty and exotic stuff. At least one can be sure that these beans and jam are authentic. One can only say that the Rhodope nature and the spirit of the Rhodope people are equally fascinating.