The formation of Magurata began about 15 million years ago. It is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria /the total length of the galleries discovered so far is about 2,500 meters/. The formations in it: stalactites, stalagmites, stalactons, sinters pockets and cave pearls, are impressive. The “Great Stalag-ton”, for example, is 20 meters high and 4 meters in diameter at the base, and the “Fallen Pine” stalagmite is 11 meters long and 6 meters in diameter.
The first traces of human presence in Magurata date back to 8 thousand years BC. People inhabited it until the Early Bronze Age. In the so-called Triumphal Hall, wooden stakes driven into the ground 25 centimeters apart have been preserved. They were interwoven with rods and plastered with clay mixed with straw. In every dwelling there was an oven, used not only for cooking food, but also for firing ceramic vessels. It is proved by the discovered fragments of pans, pots and cups.
Protected by UNESCO as a natural landmark, the cave resembles an underground cathedral and is one of the most striking tourist attractions in Eastern Europe.
What makes it truly unique are the exceptionally well-preserved ancient drawings, which have no analogues not only in Bulgaria. Similar to them, they were found only in France, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. In cult scenes, women are drawn taller than men, because this was the time of the matriarchy. The different compositions reflect the everyday life of the people of that time, as well as their primitive ideas about the structure of the world.
The images are from different eras and it is impossible to describe: dancing female and male figures, men hunting and masked people who participate in incomprehensible rituals, a kind of “chessboard”, a fantastic array of people, animals, geometric figures, images of the suns and stars. Millennia have passed, and the drawings created with bat guano /dung/ are still so bright. Perhaps that is why Magura is called the “Eighth Wonder of the World”.
In one of the niches of the Sun Hall are hidden different the rest of the drawings, which raise questions, have not yet received a definite answer. On the rock slope, several pear-shaped bodies are painted, with greatly elongated arms, long necks and rhomboid heads.
At the top is a globular body resembling a flying object or star. It is possible could the inhabitants of the cave have met aliens from outer space whom they then deified? This hypothesis has supporters. Among the drawings there is another curious group of several interconnected scenes. In the first – a man and a woman dancing in characteristic poses – the woman is larger and with her hands raised above her head, and the man is sketchy and smaller.
The interesting thing is that between this scene and the adjacent one, at the level of their heads, a mushroom is drawn, and in the next one, the man is already in an erotic pose, and there is a halo on his head and that of the woman.
It is assumed that the inhabitants of the cave used a mushroom with a psychotropic effect, from which they fell into a trance. The gallery with the unique prehistoric rock paintings is in the left branch of the cave, 200 m from its entrance. The constant temperature in it is 13 degrees. Bat colonies congregate there and the floor is covered with guano.
In the Solar Hall, an annual calendar from the Late Eneolithic with additions during the Early Bronze Age has been drawn with great accuracy (according to some scholars). The calendar record contains designations for a total of 366 days (which corresponds to one year according to the Gregorian calendar).
Work time:
From 01 April to 31 October: 09.30 – 18.30
First entry for the day – 10.00
Last entry for the day – 16.30
Entry in 2 hours – 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00;
From 01 November 31 March: 09.30 – 18.30
First entry of the day – 10.00
Last entry of the day – 16.00
Entry in 2 hours – 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00 EVERY DAY
Entrance fees:
Reduced ticket – persons up to 18 years and pensioners – 3.00 BGN
Regular ticket – persons over 18 years – 5.00 BGN.
Note: Entry to the “Magura” cave is mandatory with a tour guide and every round hour.
The price of the talk is BGN 5.00. for the entire group.
The last group enters at 5:00 p.m.
Contacts:
cash desk phone: 093296677
