Sphynx & Inks: Saeva Dupka Cave

Probably my first post should not be so…ordinary. But since it’s about time to make my first post and it’s going to be about an unordinary natural formation, then why not? :) I’ll be completely honest with you – I've never been into a cave. Never. You can laugh, go on :) Yesterday, though, I was in a magnificent cave - my first time was great :D Let me introduce you Saeva Dupka.

The Story Behind the Name

Two versions here:

#1 The land owner: His name was Sayo and the cave was on the territory of his land. Yup.

#2 The twins: They were two (Ah-ha!), Sayo and Seyo, and they were little shepherd boys. They were hiding in the cave from the bad guys in one of the darkest periods of Bulgarian history and so the cave was named after the boys.

But no matter the case is, you have to agree this is one hell of a name?! Even for Bulgarians…

The Cave

Saeva Dupka is considered to be 3 million years old but trust me, this cave is a fine wine ;) It’s at 500 m altitude and at its lowest point you have 30 m of solid rock above your head, which for some people might be not solid at all, considering the evident landslide in one of the chambers from an earthquake in 1893. The temperature in Saeva Dupka is 10-11°C year-round and it's not a good idea to go for a walk in there in your shorts and sandals. Unless you're a polar bear. Or any other type of bear, looking for a Super King bed for the winter nap. Saeva Dupka is not one of the longest caves in the world, but it sure is spacious!

You can see a lot of colours in the cave, especially red and green, due to the specifics of the soil in the area and the lighted lamps during the visitor guides.

photo by Anton Lefterov

The cave has five chambers, all with interesting names:

photo by Anton Lefterov

#1 Kupena

This chamber is named after the 3.5 m high stalagmite that looks like a haystack.

But it looks more like a scoop of ice cream to me....(You can tell I dream for the summer!...)

photo by Anton Lefterov

#2 The Landslide

Тhis chamber is actually formed by the earthquake in 1893. This here is a broken stalactite (or stalagmite - I can't tell by the look of it, and I didn't hear the tourist guide's explanations - I was too busy to wander around and gape at all the beauties the cave had to offer). As a matter of fact, the whole chamber looks like a big hole full of rocks.

#3 Harmana (The Threshing Floor)

A lot of concerts and weddings have taken place in here and, gosh, wouldn't you marry just for the sake of having a wedding in here?! I would!...

#4 Cosmos

They say you can see a rocket flying off... I couldn't see it :( Do you?

#5 The White Castle

Well, it sure looks like a sandcastle to me :)

photo by Anton Lefterov

The Bats

There're bats in the cave, which is quite normal, for a cave. These little guys with fluffy bellies were SO CUTE!! And I have never ever seen bats from that close in my life! There's one hotspot in the cave - on one of the stairs, where if you reach out your hand, you can touch the bats. And you can see them cuddling with each other, sleeping and softly breathing...Adorable! ^_^

But you can see these cuties only in winter. They spend the rest of year out of the cave, in the forest, where trees are their summer villas.

What I sorry for is that I couldn't make photos of the cave :( It wasn't allowed to take photos, but there were some guys with really good cameras and they were quite positive this had nothing to do with them. But! My boyfriend managed to take few pretty decent photos with his phone, so you can feast your eyes: