The forest paths
Marked, climbing from the beach to the plateau.
Dilianakiryakova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sunny galaxy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Catnaneva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · OU Vasil Aprilov Varna — CC BY-SA 4.0
A Christian monastery cut on two levels into a vertical limestone cliff, in use in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. The monks who lived in it were **hermits** seeking complete solitude, and they carved their cells, church and burial chapel into the rock rather than building — a monastic tradition found across the Orthodox east from Cappadocia to Egypt. It is reached today by an iron stair, and traces of wall painting remain. The name Aladzha is Turkish for variegated, most likely describing the colours of the painted walls when they were still visible.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
Most visitors to Golden Sands do not know that immediately behind the line of hotels a **protected nature park** begins, about thirteen square kilometres of dense forest. It was established in 1943 and is among Bulgaria's oldest reserves. Oak, beech and elm cover it, with some five hundred plant species, springs, and small valleys running down towards the sea, and marked walking paths climbing from beach level to the plateau behind. Inside it are the **Aladzha Monastery**, cut into the limestone cliff — which has its own page on this site — and the neighbouring Aksanov cave. It also holds registered veteran trees and raptors nesting in the cliff. The park's real value is that it is **the free escape from the resort's crowds**: ten minutes' walk from the busiest beach in Bulgaria puts you in silent forest. The paths are marked and entry is free.
Marked, climbing from the beach to the plateau.
Cut into the limestone cliff inside the park.
North of Varna, behind the Golden Sands resort