Stone forest in Bulgaria: description, history and interesting facts. Stone forest Bulgaria - a walk along the bottom of the "Lutesky Sea"

stone forest can be called unusual. natural phenomenon. In fact, this is not a forest at all in the classical sense, but a large valley dotted with a great many protruding boulders. "Les" is located 18 km from the Bulgarian city of Varna in the north-eastern part of the country. worth visiting by tourists.

The diameter of some columns reaches 2 m, and the height is 6 m. The sizes and shapes of natural sculptures are different. Each column today has a personal serial number and name. Here you can meet "Soldier", "Waterfall", "Dash", "Watchman". In addition to separate blocks, there are whole complexes, to which the Bulgarians also gave their names - "Altar", "Magic Circle".

By the way, the "Magic Circle" is a rounded composition of columns. A large column rises in the center, which gives energy to those who become the center of education. Whether this is true or is it the guides' inventions, you will not know without having been here. But one fact haunts: within a radius of 1 m from the "circle" all electronic devices cease to function.

Unique natural phenomenon attracted the attention of scholars in the 19th century. It is believed that the most ancient and mysterious columns are located in the center of the stone wasteland. You can get there on foot during a many-hour excursion. Although this does not scare adventurers.

Secrets and facts of the Stone Forest

On the sandy hills that the highway crosses, sometimes wondrous things happen. Someone fails all the electronics, some experience an unprecedented charge of energy and adrenaline. Others say with confidence that they saw a UFO over the "magic circle". Truth or fiction? Let's get acquainted with the secret side of the complex.

Six-meter hollow columns seem a fantastic sight. Rows of hollow blocks give the impression that they are connected by cones, barely attached to each other by crowns. Extremely curious is the complex of stones resembling a collection of fountains or animals frozen in silent despondency for millions of years. The Bulgarians call this place dashing, unearthly, but they boldly go here as guides. The locals nicknamed the natural attraction Beaten (that is, hammered) stones. This indicates that they do not believe in the naturalness of this formation. Quite a bold assumption, right?

Scientists in the entire history of the study of the stone forest have put forward more than two dozen hypotheses, which indicates the ambiguity of the origin. The most popular version of the emergence of a natural phenomenon is considered to be the one that connects "The Beaten Stones" with the maritime past. As if hollow columns are nothing more than layers of different rocks that accumulated on algae or other representatives of marine flora. After the algae turned to dust, the columns did not collapse like papier-mâché. And the wind, coupled with water and time, has already given the columns such funny shapes. This scientific hypothesis has a weak argumentation: how did the whole compositions of an almost ideal form form? Take, for example, the Magic Circle.

Followers of ufologists believe that the columns served as antennas for receiving signals from space. And the stones themselves were an integral complex, included in huge temple inhabitants of the Earth from the time of the first civilizations.

"" - such unusual name wears a desert area in Bulgaria, which is dotted with shoots giant stones, up to 10 meters high. Their form is the most diverse, inside the stones there are voids, and such a design still causes controversy among archaeologists, ufologists and geologists about their origin. The landscape of incredible beauty stretches from the south to the north of the Varna lowland in the form of a belt from three to eight kilometers wide, which is perfectly visible on satellite images. The stones form seven large clusters, as well as several separate small areas. with total area over 50 sq. m. They are localized in the direction to the south from the city of Beloslav to the villages of Slynchevo, Strashimirovo, Banovo and Povelyanovo. "Driven stones" have been revered for centuries local residents as sacred, but only in 1929 they were documented, thanks to the correspondent Viktor Teplyakov. In 1938, "" received the status of a national treasure.
The increased interest and resonance around the mysterious structures continues to excite the press and the public, so that soon "Driven in Stones" should be included in " World List geological forms. There are a huge number of assumptions and theories that would explain the origin of the driven stones. According to Bulgarian ufologists, there is a unique hepatogenic zone around the Driven Stones with an off-scale energy level. These pillars allegedly have the ability to draw negative energy out of a person, while clearing the aura of any negative emotions. Of course, you should not believe such a dubious theory, but travel agents clung to it like a thread, because thanks to the “healing” pebbles there is no end to tourists! They don’t need the truth, but these same ufologists do not explain the origin of stone pillars in any way! However, if mysticism beckons you, this place is perfect for you! It is worth adding that this area brings huge incomes to Bulgaria and tour operators.

Another "strange" hypothesis: "Stone Forest" is an element of the spaceport, which was built by aliens at the dawn of human development. The third theory: "Driven stones" - the remains of temples (or observatories) of extraterrestrial origin. Now let's talk about more realistic hypotheses. Some experts believe that the hollow columns are the result of fossilized organic deposits around huge algae at the bottom of the sea. After some time, these plants decomposed, and voids formed inside the stone pillars. The remains of mussels, snails, and numelites were found in the columns. Another interesting, but unlikely hypothesis: the “Stone Forest” arose as a result of the “adhesion” of several layers of the seabed as they moved towards each other in a similar way. tectonic plates earth. To date, the most probable theory is the appearance of carbonate-cemented sandstones after microbial oxidation of methane, which was released from sea ​​sand about 50 million years ago. This process is also called "boiling reefs", it is described on the example of the "submarine" landscape in the Danish shelf, where the stone processes are very reminiscent of the "driven stones" of Bulgaria. According to the theory, methane from a gas field at the bottom of the sea finds migration routes due to high pressure, causing carbonization processes along the channel of its exit to the surface. The pillars of the structure grow from the outside, and this process can occur from the sides of the formation of the substrate layer, which is noticeable in some thickenings of the stone pillars. Impact on carbonate-cemented sandstones on seabed quite strong, and as a result of changes in the surrounding loose sediments, the columns are gradually "uncovered" and come to the surface of the earth.

After thousands of years of vertical tectonic movements of the earth's crust, the "driven stones" "decided" to show themselves to people. Despite this, most of stone pillars are hidden underground like icebergs, and so far inaccessible. For centuries, nature has been deforming and changing stones with the help of water, wind and sun, so that in hundreds of years we will see real sculptural creations - people, animals, monsters, mythical creatures. "Family", "Stone Guards", "Stone Forest", "Soldier", "Throne", "Monk", "Devil" - only a small part of the names of the pillars. Yes, impressionable Bulgarians know how to invent riddles. The most impressive, excellently preserved "Stone Forest" is located 188 kilometers from Varna. Here you can see more than three hundred large and small pillars in the form of a large strip (about 120x 850) and more than fifty of them are grouped into small place on southbound. Some columns are divided into two or three segments, others are tilted down, as if they are looking at what is still happening at their foot. "Stone Forest" "Strashimirovo" (Strashimirovo) - formation, consisting of four rows of pillars, oriented from south to north. Home them distinguishing feature- thickenings (bulges) in the middle part, which gives them a conical shape with combined bases. Groups of statues in the vicinity of Banovo and Slynchevo are somewhat reminiscent of frozen fountains, and some pillars seem to imitate colossal fossilized mushrooms. Of course, every tourist sees in the stone pillars something that is closest to him. inner world and for this reason, the classification of pillars according to their similarity with real objects cannot be considered objective. But still, everything stone pillars in Bulgaria they impress with their colossal size, are extremely mysterious, full of mysteries and leave an indelible impression.

Stone forest in Bulgaria video:

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This unique monument nature near Varna. There is nothing else like it in the world, and therefore amazing place they tell a lot of stories.

Individual stones are credited with the properties of fulfilling desires; esotericists swear that this place is filled with cosmic energy, and especially impressionable tourists complain about the stubborn refusal of all modern technology to work in a magical place (but there are also skeptics who ridicule them and claim that everything worked for them, you just need to be able to use the technique) . Even the nearby spring was dubbed the Magic Spring.

broken stones

In Bulgarian, the name of the place is " broken stones". But in Russian you should say " driven stones”- huge columns are really buried in the soil.

Scientists still cannot explain the nature of the Stone Forest. It is alleged that the pillars appeared around the plants that once grew here (this version is supported by the presence of cavities inside many stone columns). The formation of stones is explained by the action of methane at the bottom of the sea that once existed here. They say that the columns were compressed from the rocks at the bottom of this very sea, and then the sea left, and they were exposed due to weathering.

3D walk

Inspirational ufologists, of course, talk about the intervention of aliens in human affairs. They, of course, saw a lighthouse or an observatory here. However, they see this in any dolmen, especially in Stonehenge.

But there is only one truth: a normal, exhaustive explanation of the appearance Stone forests in Bulgaria Not yet. Therefore, it was simply declared a natural monument, shown to tourists and studied.

The stone forest represents an area of ​​50 sq. km, where stone pillars of bizarre shapes stick out of the ground. Some of them form groups; many are hollow on the inside.

The main tourist site has dimensions of 800 by 200 m. The most interesting columns are located here. Some of them reach 7 m in height.

stoned the land is inhospitable - the territory of the monument is a desert with sparse vegetation. Experienced Tourists it is advised to walk here barefoot or not to complain about the sand getting into the shoes. Contrary to scary stories, most of the visitors' equipment works, and they take great photos with them.

Some stones have their own names - Stork, Mother and daughter, Warrior, altar, Devil and even, sorry, Phallus. It is believed that touching some of the stones is able to fulfill desires in some area (depending on the shape and name). The most powerful rock is revered, fulfilling any desire and bestowing good luck in everything.

But she favors healthy eating and active image life - to fulfill a desire, you need to squeeze into a very narrow crevice.

Video review of the Stone Forest

The groups in which one high column is surrounded by a ring of small stones look the most mysterious. They are all considered "lucky", regardless of the shape of the central column.

For vacationers in Varna Stone Forest is one of the main points excursion route. Yes, and specifically to come to Bulgaria for that. It's worth it to look at it.

Stone forest on the map

The stone forest is a valley in which there are numerous stone columns. The age of these columns dates back 50 million years. The Stone Forest is an incredible natural phenomenon in Bulgaria, which attracts crowds of tourists every year and is considered one of the most popular attractions in Bulgaria.

Stone forest Bulgaria

The Stone Forest Valley is located 18 kilometers from the resort. You can get to it along the motorway in the direction of the village of Shumen. The area of ​​this natural monument is 50 square kilometers, and the length is 700 meters. The true origin of the Stone Forest is still unknown, but there are several versions.

According to one version, there used to be a sea on the site of the Stone Forest. Due to natural climate change and the development of the Earth, the water has gone, and at the bottom former sea calcareous deposits remained on the leaves of algae, which formed this Stone Forest. Another version suggests that these are fossilized stumps of ancient huge trees, since the columns are hollow inside.

The columns of the Stone Forest reach a height of up to 6 meters, and some have a diameter of 2.5 meters. All of them have bizarre shapes and sizes, and each got its own name: "Elephant", "Soldier", "Damn", "Watchman", "Waterfall" and even have a symbol of fertility. There are also small complexes of columns that form whole compositions, which also have names, for example, "Altar" or "Magic Circle". The magic circle is a composition of small columns in the form of a circle, in the middle of which stands a large column. Many believe that within this circle you can recharge with positive energy. They also say that neither a telephone, nor a camera, nor a camera works within a radius of a meter from this circle, but in fact this is not so and was invented only for the interest of tourists.

For the first time about this place started talking in the XIX century. Today, the Stone Forest is the most ancient columns in the territory. modern Europe. The most interesting and original copies of these columns are located in the depths of the rocky - sandy desert and can only be reached on foot.

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Hotel Warsaw and Golden Sands

When choosing a tour to Bulgaria, we didn’t really “steam” about the hotel, the main thing is to have somewhere to sleep.

I knew that "Warsaw" remotely resembles our Soviet hotels.

I did not know only one thing, that it would be terribly damp and cold here.

Therefore, immediately to the word about resort vacation in Bulgaria - do not come here at the beginning of June, because it is still very cool and it often rains. It's good if the hotel has a pool, because you can't climb into the sea. By the way, in our hotel, which was located in Golden Sands(name of the district) he was, though we are not up to him, we would like to see the city and its surroundings. The same evening was dedicated to exploring the center.

Pretty good, lots of cute and expensive hotels, sandy beach with umbrellas and sunbeds. By the way, who doesn’t know, the beaches in Bulgaria belong to the state, so you can sunbathe and swim on any of them, regardless of which hotel you are from, you can only be asked to pay for sunbeds and umbrellas.

Disappointing is that the prices, which in tourist places three times higher than, for example, in the same Varna, where we went the next day.

Varna city and bad Bulgarian hitchhiking

To be precise, we did not want to stop in Varna, even according to the guide there was absolutely nothing to do there. The city is small, only 500-600 thousand people, like we have in Kirov.

But the plans were to visit the place stone forest, and to get there, it is necessary to pass through Varna in any case. public transport we were not going to use it at all, especially considering that it is not cheap here, getting to the city from Golden Sands will cost 3 lev (60 rubles). For those who want to use transport, you can take bus number 409 to the turn to Aksakovo, and then in any case you will have to catch a car, because there are no buses passing by the “forest”.

Since we are talking about money, local currency called a lion. 1 lev is equal to about 20 rubles. or 1$=1.5lev. Be careful when exchanging currency on the streets, as what is written on the stand is very veiled, be sure to ask the exchange rate directly from the “changers”.

And so, we are standing on the highway, where there is absolutely no roadside, and we are trying to catch a ride. It was here that we were overtaken by the first disappointment in terms of hitchhiking. This is not Georgia and Armenia for you, unfortunately, some do not respond to calls at all, and someone is trying to “justify” with gestures that their salon is occupied.

However, we began to give up, after standing for about 15 minutes on the track, the white mini-bass finally stopped. I will run a little ahead and say that in Bulgaria it is easier to stop this particular type of transport than a passenger car. Various heavyweights, such as trucks, are also possible, but they are almost never found close to the city.

The driver threw exactly in the center of the city to Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin. Visually, the structure is very impressive in its size, both inside and out.

And yes, it's actually pretty. Inside, under glass, there are stones from various holy places. Only one caught my eye - a stone from the tomb of the Lord.

The monastery was built in 1886 with donations from volunteers and is the main symbol of Varna. For some reason I want to call it a cathedral, its visual architecture does not fit with the monastery.

In the city, we also looked at the “promenade” street, which is in all cities, where instead of pigeons, fat gulls roam quite calmly.

We didn’t go far and returned to the road, going straight to the building of the local “government” or Municipality of Varna. On the stairs right in front of the building, heaps of stones, photographs and inviting posters were laid out on local language. I'm surprised no one has removed this yet.

OK. It's time to move towards today's goal. Even in the monastery, we found out that you need to go to the Stone Forest along the road to the capital Sofia. Moreover, it is necessary to get out on the old highway, if only to get out of the city. Having turned more than one kilometer in search of the right path, we finally got to the right place.

Another problem with hitchhiking forced us to spend 1.5 hours on the highway. During this time, several more “stoppers” appeared, who also did not differ in particular luck. And yet we were lucky to stop one of the trucks, it’s a pity it was not on the way with us, but I found out that it would be better to get to Romania through locality Ruse, which is located almost on the very border in Bulgaria.

After about 15 minutes, we still managed to catch a passenger car, the driver of which drove us about halfway, telling us about stone circles In the woods". We drove the rest of the way in another car. Here we were more fortunate, the driver decided to make a detour and drive straight to the gate stone forest, which is +3 km from the highway.

Stone Forest (Pobitity Stones)

The entrance to the territory costs 3 lev, but the Russian tourists whom we met by chance told us that you can enter the territory for free on the road to the right of the main entrance. Tickets are not issued when paying for entry, so no one will ask anything.

Great! Having walked along the side road for about 300 meters, we saw an open gap in the fence without barbed wire, and we freely entered the territory, where a fantastic unearthly landscape of stone pillars opens up.

Probably everyone is tormented by the question, why the actual “stone forest”? If you look closely at the vertical stones, then there is a complete feeling that these frozen masses were once large tree trunks.

The place truly has a powerful energy. Guides assure that it can even be healed. On a vast territory of 50 sq. km. the valley is scattered with the remains of fossilized pillars of natural origin.

Some of them have round voids, like rotten trees. And the standing stone columns are up to 10m high.

Since we started studying stone valley from the end, it is here, right in the center of the sandstone, that a circle of stones is visible, which was laid out by Vanga herself, indicating a place with strong positive energy.

Many tourists sit in this circle for hours, we were no exception before the arrival of a new tourist wave.

The place is really amazing, I advise you to definitely visit here, fatigue from a long hiking passes in a matter of moments and the mood rises. Even the menacing noise of thunder from a black cloud very close to us did not spoil the impression of a walk through the Stone Forest.

However, the rain never got to us. After sitting here for a while, we headed back.

Return

It turned out to get to Varna faster, and again we are in the center. But in order to get on the highway to Golden Sands, I had to cross the whole city on foot again. Our strength was even enough to climb up to the monument to the Bulgarian Soviet Friendship. The truth about what this building was erected in honor of had to be guessed purely intuitively, because the inscription was ruthlessly “spoiled”, apparently soviet monuments not respected in Bulgaria.

On the highway to Golden Sands, I had to stand still for about an hour. It is probably considered that tourist area those who can afford a bus live. A couple of young guys thought that we had cigarettes, so they kindly agreed to give us a lift, however, they were very disappointed when we did not have any cigarettes.

Well, it's been a day. We returned to the hotel without hind legs. To tell the truth, I thought after such a “trekking” my legs would ache all night, but she passed in a state of dead sleep, and maybe the energy of the Stone Forest made my life easier.

Tomorrow we will try to get out in the opposite direction - another resort town where you can admire the palace and rose gardens of the Romanian queen.