The Fotinski Waterfalls

The Fotinski Waterfalls form a picturesque cascade along the middle course of the Fotinska River, a left tributary of the Vacha, near the village of Fotinovo in Bulgaria’s Western Rhodope Mountains and the municipality of Batak. The river cuts through a narrow, rocky and densely wooded valley, creating three consecutive drops with a combined height of around 30 metres. The individual falls measure roughly 6–7 m, 16–18 m and 5–6 m, with natural plunge pools beneath two of them. Damp rock walls and shaded woodland of oak, beech, manna ash and hazel, interspersed with conifer plantations, give the gorge a cool, secluded character. A 12.1-hectare area around the cascade was designated a natural landmark in 1979. The waterfalls are most impressive in spring, when their flow is strongest.