It is rightly called one of the most beautiful caves. The snow-white color of the fine-grained marbles that the Novomakhlenska River cut through more than 3.5 million years ago to create this natural wonder makes it unique. That is where the name of the cave comes from, because in the so-called Magic Hall, among the exquisite sinter formations and lakes, the fascinated eye can easily distinguish the figure of Snow White, the canopy of her bed and other details from the favorite fairy tale, as if created from an enchanting snow-white material.
One of the most beautiful karst formations in Bulgaria can be seen in the cave. Undoubtedly, signs with inscriptions such as: “Slow down”, “Don’t give up”, “Stop and rest” improve the mood.
There are several assumptions about the name of the nearby town of Peshtera, but the prevailing opinion is that the reason for this name is most likely the Snezhanka and Yubileyna caves. The finds found there give the researchers reason to conclude that they were inhabited during the Bronze Age and that the settlement in the Cave Valley occurred sometime in the second half of the 4th century BC. Many testimonies remain from the time when the three ethnic groups – Thracians, Slavs and Bulgarians – were mixed: not only bridges, remains of roads and fortresses, but also sarcophagi, cult objects, tools of labor, ornaments and weapons.
Snezhanka is one of the smallest caves in Bulgaria, but it is very rich in stalactites /the largest is 1.27 meters long/, stalagmites, stalactons and draperies. Its special charm is given by the five sinter lakes, in which cave pearls can be seen. In the middle of the cave there are round hearths, next to which objects from the early Iron Age and animal bones were found. There are assumptions that the Thracians from the Besi tribe used it as a refuge.
This fabulous cave, located in the Batashka Mountain, was discovered by chance on January 3, 1961, by three climbers from the Kupena, Pestera tourist association, who entered at 9 o’clock in the morning and left it late in the evening, captivated by its beauty. The same year, the cave was also studied by specialists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. One of them named it “Snow White”. It was improved and opened for tourist visits in 1968.
Along its main axis, the cave is only 145 meters long and occupies only 3150 square meters of area, but it is extremely rich. One of the most interesting halls bears the intriguing name “Hall of the Udder”, because of the striking similarity between the shapes of the stalactites and the udders of cows.
In the Magic Hall there are stalactites that can be tapped to create a melody.
Perhaps the most intriguing is the “Hall of Beards”, from the ceiling of which hang rows of dark brown “beards”, which are nothing but the mighty roots of centuries-old beech trees, which have crept up here through the cracks of the two-meter marble rocks.
Work time:
From April 1 to September 30: 9:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. (no day off)
From October 1 – March 31: 9:30 – 16:00 (no day off)
Contacts:
Website
phone: 0897 44 90 90 – Svetlana Galeva
