Uhlovitsa Cave

Worth a detour

Uhlovitsa is the hardest of the Rhodope show caves to reach and the quietest because of it: a forest road above Mogilitsa, then 180 steps up through the trees before you even reach the door. Inside are some 330 metres of gallery on several levels, linked by metal staircases, ending at basins that fill in spring. Entry is only with a guide, on the hour, and a party of fewer than four pays a flat minimum.

Story

Background

The cave opens in a cliff in the Sinite Virove locality, a few kilometres above Mogilitsa in the deep south of the Rhodopes, close enough to the Greek border that this was restricted country within living memory. It is a vertical cave rather than a horizontal one: the route climbs and drops through chambers on different levels, connected by metal stairs, and the water that shaped it is still at work. Falls run down the walls, heaviest in winter, and the lower chambers hold small lakes that fill in early spring and drain later in the year.

What you see therefore depends heavily on when you come. In late summer the pools can be empty and the falls reduced to a trickle. In February the formations are at their best and the road up is at its worst.

The operating pattern is worth knowing before you drive out. Entry is with a guide only, on the hour, and the commentary is in Bulgarian unless you have arranged otherwise beforehand. In summer the cave opens daily; from October to April it is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the last group goes in at four. A party of fewer than four pays a flat fee rather than per head, which makes a solo visit disproportionately expensive. The drive from Smolyan, through Smilyan and up past Mogilitsa, takes the better part of an hour on narrow mountain road.