We turn right from the highway to Sofia, only 15 minutes by car from Varna. We are moving on a dirt road. On one side are micro-dumps after micro-dumps. They can clearly see traces of an excavator, apparently clearing the piles of garbage. On the other side is a dirt track, representing a motocross track. We reach a small clearing with black circles of burnt grass and an almost charred trunk of a tree. The remains of garbage show that the place was used for picnics. And how else? An incredible view opens up from here. A desert landscape with stone pillars rising up to 7 meters above the ground. As far as you can see. Here and there on the wide sandy field purple bluebells have bowed their heads, giving a magical expression to the whole picture. These are one of the most beautiful types of pine. It blooms in March and is found in the Pobiti kamani area – the “Sunny South” group. There is also an extensive Sunny North group. The two are the most representative of the natural landmark, because they reveal the desert landscape of the area to the greatest extent. Films with Sylvester Stallone, “On the Trail of Captain Grant”, “Conan the Barbarian”…
“Pobiti kamani” was the first officially declared natural landmark in Bulgaria, back in 1937. At that time, the area was also called Dikili tash. It is located on the territory of 4 municipalities – Aksakovo, Devnya, Suvorovo and Beloslav.
Pobiti kamani is one of the places that Bulgaria has offered in
the preliminary list of UNESCO sites
This happened already at the beginning of the 80s of the last century. The candidacy was reconfirmed after 2000. Unfortunately, nothing was done to develop the area and make it a real UNESCO site. This would create a lot of tourism opportunities, especially in terms of alternative and adventure tourism in four municipalities that are further from the coast of Varna, believes Deyan Kateliev from “Veloweekend”.
Deyan’s interest in Pobiti kamani started precisely from “Slanchevo Yug” in the 90s of the last century, when he came here by bicycle from Varna as a student. This is also the beginning of his occupation with cycling, and subsequently – with cycle tourism. In 2014-2015, already professionally looking for new cycling routes in the region, he again began to survey the different groups of Pobiti kamani. This is how he encounters the many disturbances in the area – garbage dumps, broken roads, construction and industry.
Apart from being a natural landmark, Pobiti Kamani has several other modes of protection. In 1995, and later in 2002, with several successive acts, the territory of 253 hectares was declared a protected area. By order No.RD-1054 of 17.12.2020 it is the protected area under the Law on Biological Diversity. The goal is to preserve and maintain the Ponto-Sarmatian steppes, which in the entire European Union are found only in North-Eastern Bulgaria and partly in Romania. To improve the habitats of the spiny-hipped and spiny-tailed turtles, the horned beetle and the tiger butterfly, which are protected species under the Bern Convention and the Biodiversity Act.
Do the many conservation regimes protect
At the beginning of 2019, Deyan Kateliev submitted a number of reports to the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIOSV) in Varna for pollution with construction and household waste to the ravine passing through the village of Sunnyno and within the boundaries of the protected area; for a micro-dump of about 500 square meters on the way to the “Career” group, etc. The result of the inspection of RIOSV – Varna, are several prescriptions – to the mayors of Aksakovo and Devnya with deadlines for cleaning. Two months after the expiration of the prescriptions, the eco-inspectors found that “the pollution on the properties owned by the municipality of Aksakovo has been cleaned, and for those that have other owners, notification letters have been sent to undertake cleaning actions.” Devnya municipality has also cleaned up the pollution and even put up a prohibition sign, restricting access to the ravine with tape.
In 2020, Deyan Kateliev comes to check the result. “I saw that nothing had happened. The piles of garbage continued to stand,” says the resident of Varna. Two years later – Kateliev again filed a report with the RIOSV about numerous unregulated landfills on the territory of Aksakovo municipality. The following is a new prescription from RIOSV to the mayor of Aksakovo to “take actions in accordance with competence”.
The situation in the spring of 2024 can be summed up in one sentence – “nothing new under the sun”. “There is cleaning, but there are also new garbage disposals,” Dejan surveys the grounds. Also new is the expanded motocross track around the “Slanchevo Yug” group, which in some places enters the protected area. The land is state owned by State Forestry. And the management of the protected area “Pobiti Kamani” belongs to the directorate of the “Golden Sands” Nature Park.
According to the protection regime of “Pobiti kamani”, in the locality it is forbidden to conduct competitions with motor vehicles outside the existing roads; movement of motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs and buggies off existing roads in non-urbanized areas.
“The development of Pobiti kamani as a tourist site actually implies the formation of such routes and areas for recreation. But they must be aligned with a general plan for the management of the entire natural landmark,” Kateliev believes.
One of the most remote groups of Pobiti kamani is “Banovo”. It is also the most convenient for the development of bicycle routes, because there are no busy asphalt roads nearby. It is more forested and less sandy. It is located within the Suvorovo Municipality. Here, too, there is the presence of micro-dumps in the immediate vicinity of the protected area. They have been cleaned many times, but the flow of waste cannot be stopped. There is generally an established understanding among the people of the region that
if they have to dump something illegal
it is good for them to go to Pobiti kamani, declares Dejan.
One of the most colorful and spectacular groups of the natural landmark, known as Kömorluka, is reached by a broken asphalt road, which is its only access. Around it again we come across a lot of rubbish – toilet bowls, earthenware, even a quilt… Further up, going along the dirt path, parallel to the rocks, there is a dump for old tires, a micro construction dump, etc. On the other side of the valley, an incredible landscape like Indian rock temples is revealed. In an abandoned quarry, the entire foundation of the origin of Pobiti kamani is represented. Only here can one visually trace how the natural phenomenon was formed in depth. It is also one of the wildest and most preserved places in terms of wildlife in Pobiti kamani. It is due in part to the direct connection to the Haramiyat River, which is the water system of the otherwise desert region. The sources of the river feed the first aqueduct built for the water supply of Varna.
Just a stone’s throw away from this wild place
booming industrialization
Behind the unique rock formations in the abandoned quarry are huge tailings ponds, landfills for industrial waste from the chemical plants in Devnya. Even if they are not visible from the side of the natural landmark, the noise of the working machinery is clearly heard. “Sometimes all the embankments spill out of the catchment area and enter the boundaries of the protected site. This is one of the factors behind the place’s not-so-good name,” says our guide.
The advantage from a tourist point of view of the “Career” is that it is the entrance to the tourist routes connected to the railway line from Beloslav. Already in the 1930s and 1940s, the approach was from the Beloslav railway line. There are interesting photos of the place with Tsar Boris III. They show how the area was much more grassy, with far fewer bushes and trees.
The afforestation carried out in the 1970s
changes an object’s clothing. This is most clearly seen in the central part of Pobiti Kamani. Perennial vegetation has entered between the stones and the area now has a bushy, not so desert, appearance. Thus, one of the two existing deserts in Europe (the other is in Spain) is gradually losing its appearance.
Only 100 meters from the tourist center, in the border forest, there are extensive unregulated dumps of auto parts, construction and household waste. And this is one of the showcases of Varna in its tourist presentation, wonders Deyan Kateliev.
We can only guess whether the situation would have been different if Pobiti Kamani had become a UNESCO site. At the moment, the tourist potential of the area is left in the background at the expense of transport, service, production, storage and forestry infrastructure. We hear more often about projects for an industrial zone in Sunny than about the group of Pobiti kamani “Sunny South” or “Sunny North”. In no general development plan of the municipalities in whose territory the natural landmark falls,
no buffer zone is provided
to protect it from pollution or construction.
At the beginning of 2000, when the Ministry of Environment and Waters confirmed Pobiti kamani’s candidacy for a UNESCO geological site, there was an order to build one, says Deyan Kateliev. It included all the lands bordering the protected objects.
From a geological point of view, Pobiti kamani is a unique phenomenon of global importance, the UNESCO website states. In addition, the biodiversity of the territory around the “stones” increases their value. In the surrounding environment there are significant habitats in Bulgaria for 4 globally threatened, 2 threatened and 8 protected plant species. The total number of species of vertebrates and invertebrates with conservation value is 52.
The criteria for the candidacy also states: The columns are remarkable sedimentary structures formed on five levels one above the other with a total height of 40-45 m. They form 18 groups spread over an area of 70 square km. All levels are observed only in the quarry near the village of Beloslav. The huge stone columns are a unique natural phenomenon that has no analogue in the world.
There are many hypotheses about their origin – that they are the remains of coral reefs from the bottom of an ancient sea, a petrified forest, that they are
There are many hypotheses about their origin – that they are the remains of coral reefs from the bottom of an ancient sea, a petrified forest, that they were formed around gas springs by the coalescence of grains of sand, that they are prismatic weathered rocks, sand-limestone concretions… even that they are the work of an extinct civilization. According to the most common theory, the “stone forest” near Varna was formed 50 million years ago, when the area was part of the seabed. After the water receded, the inorganic deposits on it eroded, acquiring their present-day whimsical shapes.
Natural structures similar to Stones
included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, exist only in Australia. These are stromatolites – rock-like structures built by microbes. They were found in Shark Bay, on the extreme west coast of Australia.
If we were to compare the Broken Stones in terms of sprawl and scale with another UNESCO site, there is hardly a more appropriate one than the viticultural landscape of Piedmont – Lange-Roero and Monferrato. It encompasses as many as five distinct wine-growing regions with exceptional landscapes and the Castle of Cavour, an emblematic name both for the development of the vineyards and for Italian history. Vine pollen from the 5th century BC was found in the area. In order to manage the natural landmark more effectively, the five Italian administrative regions established a common association.
In our country, a similar partnership between municipalities took place in 2004, when Devnya, Aksakovo and Suvorovo realized the project “The magic of beaten stones: Development and promotion of ecotourism with the participation of local communities”. The value is 235,412 euros. 86% of the amount is allocated by the Phare Executive Agency – ISS to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. It is planned to build special routes for people with visual and motor disabilities, as well as bike lanes. The project also includes the construction of a specialized tourist site for the site, as well as a visitor center. The security of the tourist site was supposed to be carried out by the three municipalities.
20 years later
there is no trace of the eco-paths and bike paths
There is no security, evident from the numerous and indiscriminately formed dumps. The visitor center, which is actually located on the territory of the municipality of Aksakovo, is closed. Entrance fees for the site (BGN 5 for adults and BGN 3 for students) are collected by the state through the Regional History Museum. From there they assure us that the working hours from January 1 to April 30 are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., excluding Sundays and Mondays. In reality, however, it looks completely uninhabited for months.
“A nice project, but the intended results were not achieved. Perhaps everyone is to blame, because they did not consider it a priority and did not take enough care,” admits the mayor of Devnia, Svilen Shitov. Unlike the mayor of Aksakovo, Mr. Shitov, agreed to stand in front of the camera and answer our questions. According to him, it is difficult for each of the municipalities to take care of the natural phenomenon. Since this year, the mayor of Devnya has pledged to restore part of the project in its part for the visitor center. “We will try to restore with our own funds both the eco-paths and the bike lanes as they were once marked. I hope we will succeed before the tourist season”, promised Svilen Shitov. The object is one of the most visited in the Varna region, but not enough care is taken by the state, according to the mayor.
This year, the Municipality of Devnya has signed a contract with a tour operator company for the implementation of a project related to tourism. It does not include Broken Stones. “But this is a major tourist site that the municipality should take advantage of. By rebuilding the information center, we will have an additional opportunity to promote our territory,” commented Shitov.
According to RIM data, Pobiti Kamani was officially visited by more than 36,300 tourists in 2022 and 2023, with the figure almost 6,000 higher in the last year. This is despite the occasional visitor center and despite the possibility that the natural landmark can be viewed from different places without going through the official entrance. “Availability is maximum. The site is visited by tourists, even when there are no RIM-Varna employees there. Attendance can be increased if there is a stop for intercity bus transport in the nearby area”, says the director of RIM – Varna, believes ch. assistant professor Dr. Igor Lazarenko.
They call “Broken Stones” a “unique world landmark”, “one of the most incredible natural phenomena in Bulgaria” with the country’s largest inland sand habitats. A place where the only evidence of human life during the Mesolithic was found in Bulgaria. The first officially announced natural landmark in our country currently remains protected from human carelessness only on paper.
