Bacho Kiro cave – Dryanovo Monastery

Bacho Kiro cave is situated 6 km south-west from the town of Dryanovo, in the area of the Dryanovo Monastery, on the picturesque gorges of the Andaka and Dryanovska rivers into a sheer limestone cliff at altitude of 335 meters and height of 25m.

It is the first well-developed cave in Bulgaria – the cave-development was made by the Dryanovo tourists in 1937 and its name the cave receives in 1940 in honour of the hero from the April Uprising Bacho Kiro. It has been announced as one of the 100 national tourist objects.

The cave is a complicated four-storey maze of cave galleries and spurs about 3,600 meters. For the visitors, there is an adapted part of 700m. It was formed in three main directions – East, North-East and South-East – from underground rivers – for 1,800,000 years. Its formation is in a narrow connection with the development of the valley of Dryanovska river and its feeder – Andaka river. In the course of time the rivers form the cave galleries and halls. This is the initial stage of the cave formation and after that comes its painter – the Karst waters. For hundreds of thousands of years the restless drops of water bit by bit sculptured beautiful cave forms – stalactites, stalagmites, stalactones, and shaped them into odd forms – fishes, snakes, humans, Virgin Mary and Child, bear etc. The impressive lightning shows to the visitors a Rainy Hall with the Stone Flower, Lake of Happiness, the Concert Hall, the Bear Slide, Bear Meadow, Hall of Priest Hariton and lots more.

Bacho Kiro cave is also an archaeological object of national importance. The first hall was named Preddverieto /The Antechamber/, it is best explored. There were discovered remains from cave-men who lived in the cave. The archaeologist found also a skeleton of a cave bear with size over 3 m, whose jaw is exhibited at British Museum. Some small rude blades processed at both sides, symmetric and asymmetric knives and scarpers, weapons and tools made from bones. On top cave sediments can be seen remains from the dwellings of the inhabitants – the cave men who according to the archaeological data refer to the Stone-Copper Age 4,000 years BC. According to the data, the signs of life in these places are among the oldest on the Balkan peninsula.  

One of the tourist attractions in the cave is ‘Chistilishteto’ /The Purgatory/. This is a low, difficult to pass corridor with size 60x40, through which only a bended man can pass.

The cave is managed by the Tourist Association ‘Bacho Kiro’ – town of Dryanovo. The visitors of the cave are catered for by guides every day all year round.

Opening hours:

summer season – 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

winter season – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Prices:  Short route (25 min)

Adults - 3 leva

Students, children and pensioners – 2 leva

Long route (70 min)

Adults – 5 leva

Students, children and pensioners – 3 leva

Adjacent tourist objects:

• Museum exposition ‘Kolyu Ficheto – life and activity’ – town of Dryanovo
• Museum exposition ‘Lavchieva house’ – town of Dryanovo
• St. Archangel Michael Monastery
• Museum exposition ‘Archaeology and Renaissance’ – on the courtyard of the monastery
• Bacho Kiro hut
• Camping site Strinava

Requests for visits and information you could obtain from Tourist Association Bacho Kiro

5370 Dryanovo, district of Gabrovo

7 Stefan Stambolov Str, postal box 14

Phone (landline): 0676/7 23-32

Е-mail:bacho_kiro2@abv.bg