Lakatnik Rocks and Temnata Dupka cave

Located on the left slope of the Iskar Gorge, Lakatnik cliffs attract not only lovers of beautiful landscapes and unspoiled nature, but many climbers as well.

The phenomenon, with a height in certain places of up to 250 m., is located between the beautiful valleys of Proboinitsa and Dolo rivers, in the vicinity of Gara Lakatnik (train station Lakatnik). The cliffs were given that name because of the bend in the Iskar River, shaped like a folded human elbow.

The composition of the cliffs - of red sandstone and limestone - over the years and due to the impact of external forces and processes, e.g land denudation, has allowed the formation of different shapes- pinnacles, pyramids, towers and so forth. The natural phenomenon has well developed karst - a precondition for the emergence of numerous karst caves, chasms and ravines in the limestone layers. One of the most famous caves is “Temanata dupka” /the "Dark Hole"/ with a total length of 9 km.

Lakatnik cliffs are referred to as "the Cradle of Bulgarian climbing" and over 350 routes with varying degrees of difficulty are developed on the slopes.

The “alpine rope” was first used here to climb the cliffs in the early 30-s of the XX^th century.