A mysterious stone city 4000 years old is hidden in Bulgaria

A mysterious stone city is frozen deep in the forests of Sredna Gora in Bulgaria.

Colossal-sized rocks scattered in bizarre clusters along the entire southern slope from Koprivshtitsa to Strelcha. Amazing structures that remember life on these lands 4000 years before Christ.

If we are traveling on the Sub-Balkan road, we stop via Koprivshtitsa towards Strelcha.

Almost immediately after conquering the saddle between the high peaks of Bunaya on the right and Bogdan on the left, we will notice dozens of those strange-looking stone colossi around the road.

We are already in the heart of the megalithic city and we are walking along one of the marked paths in the Kulata area. The area is stony, with a slope in a southern direction, but extremely picturesque in all seasons. Especially now, when late summer has already dyed the landscape yellow-orange – heralding the onset of golden autumn.

These are really huge granite rocks, piled up and shaped in a way that the imagination can hardly imagine.

Moreover, some of these canaries are set against any laws of physics.

That’s right – perfectly upright on the steep cliffs, astronomically aligned to ancient beliefs and cults. This is what the Thracian sanctuaries Kulata, Skumsale and Kachulata look like. The mighty earth forces are the main artist of this alien picture, but the Thracians, who recognized these rock phenomena as their sanctuaries, have shaped the most mysterious corners.

Along the trail, a huge oblong granite giant, protruding and visible from miles away, makes an impression. Such type of structures are called menhirs, and this one here is among the highest in Bulgaria.

This menhir is really quite tall. 5 meters and 80 centimeters.

Three times as much as a standing person. For the ancients, this type of upright stone was a symbol of the male principle and the sun.

Beds of stone, thrones, gutters, altars, pirustia. The silent granite giants know all, but their voice has died away in the silence of time. Only they remember the mysterious rituals, divination customs and sacrifices performed here by the Thracian-Odris.

Southwest of the Tower, on the right on the road to Strelcha, we go to Skumsale. Another megalithic city that impresses with the shapes and size of the stone blocks. The strange name probably comes from „kumsal“, the sandy soil of the entire southern slope under Mount Stramonos.

If one moves around, one will again see the now familiar cult fixtures, visibly hand-carved into the solid stone. The area is criss-crossed by paths between the cliffs, trodden by lovers of more extreme climbing.

TO THEM AND BACK: Where lives the only herd of Tibetan yaks in the Balkans

In practice, no one will stop you from climbing the rocks, but it should be borne in mind that it is not so safe. This is the kind of place we are looking for – with a forward view of the surrounding stone blocks.

A thousand-year history frozen in the skirts of Sredna Gora. Where the Thracians proved their courage by shooting arrows at lightning. Riddles from the life and beliefs of the ancient peoples, which are almost unknown to modern man.

The History Museum in Strelcha can tell us about the facts and hypotheses surrounding one of the largest megalithic cities in Bulgaria. The walk through the Thracian sanctuaries ends in the cozy halls, which have collected all the known history of the region

final theory test