Aladzha Monastery, Varna Province, Bulgaria

5Km6m 5:00 PM Aug 28, 2021

A definite must visit, interesting and well worth it!
Lovely place, must visit when in the area. A medieval sandstone monastery. Gives you a good idea, how monks used to live there. Very nicely accessible place, not with wheelchairs though. It must have taken years to carve out different rooms, it really is a marvel. I know, that sandstone is actually quite easy to carve, so please, if you visit, don't carve your name in the sandstone, just keep the place as it is. I don't know what's the deal in Bulgaria with road signs, but there are literally none, until you reach the site. You can trust your GPS though, it will take you there. Don't forget to fill your water bottles at the parking lot, there's a spring there. P.S. if you go near the bus stop, you can find a map with few hiking routes!

5mountainsrivers99 5:00 PM Sep 13, 2022

This place is a must!
Very interesting area. The caves and underground section were very cool. When the other tourists who were talking loudly on the phone and doing selfies left the caves, it was very peaceful and created a feeling. I appreciated the English information the museum, including a few short video presentations on the history of the monastery and the history of Orthodox Christianity in Bulgaria. Also of note are the black and white religious drawings. I have never seen black and white iconography in Orthodox or Catholic places, so that was new and curious. The spring water is drinkable and tastes very good. We brought empty bottles and drank the water for the duration of our trip as Varna municipal water tastes very bad. We spent another two hours hiking through the forest area. Lots of trails and interesting rocks to check out. We brought a lunch and had a picnic in the forest.