Hello, everyone!
I want to share with you one of my favourite locations in our little country of Bulgaria, where we have an amazing nature sights. Today I would like to show you a destination I have visited back in 2020 – the Madara park and Rider, which I am sure to visit again.
Madara is a village in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Shumen municipality, Shumen Province. Madara lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of the city of Shumen, at the western foot of the Madara plateau.
The most notable landmarks are the Madara rider and the archeological reserve Madara, which is one of the 100 national tourist destinations of Bulgaria.
Pulling up to the site, there is a large parking space for you to park your car. Nearby are located a few souvenir shops, a fast food restaurant which serves common quick Bulgarian dishes and a hotel if you’re planning on staying for more than a day.
There is a lot of space to cover in the entire park which starts right from the parking lot. Moving on from there you should get ready for a serious hike if you’re planning on climbing to the top of the Madara fortress, so make sure you bring your comfortable shoes and a bottle or two of water.
After some walking and climbing the stairs we stumble on this gorgeous cave-ish rock formation with a nice shade to hide from the sun, catch your breath and admire the beauty.
Following the path you would notice the peace and quiet of the nature park as there are no cars nearby, the song of the birds and most importantly the freshness of the air – amazing.
As it is a park there are many beautiful trees, plants and small animals to look out for, if you’re planning of snapping a few photos of the little rascals as I was lucky to.
Following is probably my favorite picture because I managed to take a decent photo of this little bird carrying something in his little beak – is it just me or is there something so spectacular in nature’s ways!
And a bonus of myself crouching in the hopes of taking a good macro photo, hehe.
A little after that, before starting to ascend the stairs to reach the fortress you would pass by the most notable landmark in the park – The Madara rider, dated way back to the late 7th or early 8th century. The rider himself is located up above the pathway on a high cliff but is clearly visible from down there.
Before the long way up the stairs to get to the gorgeous view and the peace up there, you can see a sign on the road that reads “Healing fountain -> 150m”. It is believed that drinking the water there could help with joint pains.
Also one of the things that stand out is this little shrine with a few icons where you can light a candle or leave a coin for good fortune, luck and health.
Sadly on the climb to the fortress I didn’t take pictures with my DSLR as the steps are very steep and you should be careful, but I snapped some quick ones with my phone, so here’s what’s to be expected – starring my brother and his girlfriend.
Speaking of the view from the long way up those stairs – check out this panorama of the breathtaking view from the top of the steps made from 7 photos and the automate function of our trusty friend Photoshop.
Reaching the end of the road on top you would walk around some ruins of the Madara Fortress, where once again the view is so amazing that you must see it with your eyes, pictures and words can only do so much, but here are some quick photos from the end of our journey.
And a bonus, featuring my messy hair, talking face, gesturing hands and with the help of the background overlooking the plateau below.
Lastly I would like to share with you two other pictures from the trip that I find interesting enough.
If I could say just one thing about this place is that it’s totally worth the visit. The combination of the nature, clean air, the song of the birds and the energy this place fills you with leaves me speechless. If you are visiting our small country and find yourself close I strongly recommend that you spend a few hours to walk in this amazing park and see it through your own eyes.
P.S: Equipment used – Pentax K-r, Pentax-DAL f/3.5-5.6 18-55mm, Pentax f/4-5.6 50-200mm, and for the macros - Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro and a Raynox DCR-150.
For the photo enhancement I use Photoshop 2020.
I hope you enjoyed reading my rumbles, liked the Madara park, rider and fortress and perhaps found your next destination when visiting Bulgaria.
Thank you for your time!
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