The great arch
45 m overhead.
Камен Ханджиев — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Камен Ханджиев — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pearlytear — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pearlytear — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Михал Орела — CC BY 2.0
The Wonderful Bridges, also called the Marvelous Bridges, are two natural rock arches in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria, in the karst valley of the Erkyupriya River in the Western Rhodopes, at 1,450 metres at the foot of Persenk Peak. They lie about 38 km in a straight line from Plovdiv. The «bridges» were formed by the once larger Erkyupriya River, which turned clefts in the marble into a deep water cave whose roof eroded and collapsed over time, perhaps in an earthquake. The larger bridge is 96 metres long and 15 metres at its widest, shaped by three arches, the biggest 45 metres high and 40 metres wide, with the river flowing under the middle one. The smaller bridge lies 200 metres downstream, 60 metres long and 50 metres high. Visitors stand beneath a vast grey-cream marble vault that opens onto dense forest of century-old spruce. Birds nest in the marble clefts, and sunlight slips through the arches to the valley floor. Both bridges can be crossed on secure trails, and two tourist huts stand nearby. The road in is mountainous and winding.
45 m overhead.
Century-old trees.
Under the middle arch.
Erkyupriya River valley, Western Rhodopes, Bulgaria
Yes, on secure trails.
Two tourist huts nearby.