As usual, a longer drive out than needed had I bothered to keep track of which scenic route the satnav had decided on today. I really should invest a decent quality map to back up my slightly eccentric satnav.
Checking for places to go on google maps had combined the caves with a visit to Krushuna waterfall as they are relatively close by one another.
With the number of movies now being made in Bulgaria, I had seen Devetashka cave on Expendables 2 and read reports of how the movie company had built a bridge over the river before driving away many of the caves bat population with gunfire and explosions. Happily most have now returned.
Parking is a bit hit and miss and will probably be difficult if you attempt a visit on a holiday weekend, we arrived midweek in July and a few cars and a coach had filled up most spaces which tend to be little cleared areas off the access lane.
Crossing the bridge the mouth of the cave comes into view and is one fair old hole, over 30 meters wide and 30 meters high. The large holes streaming daylight into the cave and its 2 large galleries would, I imagine, make this a good visit for those with a touch of claustrophobia. At no point do you feel closed in and also the path through the cave is easily negotiated apart from stairs should you wish to venture up to the second gallery.
It turned out that July is the breeding season for the bats and the rear gallery of the cave was closed. Unless you happen to be Bulgarian, then the barrier is there to be ignored and flash photography is not a problem.
I quite enjoyed this natural wonder, the scale of the caves, the easy access (wife was on crutches) and the fallen ceiling holes make for a different experience to many cave visits.
One nice point was that whilst paying the small entrance fee, the young guy pointed out that it was free for the wifey as she hobbled along on her sticks. Something we've found out applies to many attractions in Bulgaria.
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