uhlovica cave

Called also 'the underground palace', Uhlovica cave is one of the most beautiful caves I have visited in Bulgaria. It is located some 15 kms from Smolyan, direction Arda, just before the village of Mogilitsa.The cave's entrance is 1040 m high, hence there's a path you have to walk until you reach the entrance (takes approx 30 mins). The entrance is with a guide, every sharp hour. The guide is in bulgarian, but if you call them in advance - they can also arrange a visit in English. The visit takes about 40-50 minutes and is amazing. You walk down a long flight of stairs until you reach the main part of the cave where you can see impressive cave formations. The best thing in the cave are the crystal waterfall with its 7 lakes, positioned at the end of the 300 meter walking path inside the cave. The lakes get filled during the melting of the snow and are crystal clear.During the winter we also saw sleeping bats, just next to the starts - never seen bats so pretty close to me, so cute!Photos are not allowed in the cave and you have to speak silently so you don't disturb the bats.You can take some snacks with you - just above the cave the stairs lead to a very nice place with table and benches which opens magnificent view to Koshnica fortress, Arda river and the hills around. It's lovely so you might want to spend a bit more time here.It's written that kids below 7 years old are not recommended to enter the cave, but if their parents look after them well enough, it's OK, there's nothing dangerous or risky unless you leave them to walk on their own of course.