The gorge of Erma, 4 km from the town of Trun, also known as Lomnish-koto /after the name of the nearby village of Lomnica/, is the result of the millenary work of the river, which cut a deep gorge in the limestone. In 1961, in order to preserve the natural ecosystems, the species diversity, the habitats of rare and endangered species and the remarkable landscapes, the gorge was declared a natural landmark and a protected area.
Opposite each other on both banks of the river, two canaries, about 150-200 meters high, called the Stiff Stone and the Monastery /or the Church/ have been erected. To the delight of thrill seekers, there are more than ten alpine climbing routes with different categories of difficulty. Of course, there is also a legend about the appearance of the rocks – romantic and sad, which tells about the impossible love of two young people. The boy was poor and the girl from a rich family that did not approve of their love. The two ran away together, but the girl’s mother cursed them and they turned to stone, separated forever. From their tears the river Erma was born.
As for the name of the river, according to Constantine Irechek, it came from Father Therapontius, who lived in a rock hole nearby, about whom Paisius wrote in his “History”. Saint Therapontius lived in Lydia during the time of the emperor Valerian and was a priest in the city of Sardis. The name mu in Church Slavonic /from that of the river Hermes in Lydia/ was transformed into Yerme.
There are two ways to admire the extraordinary beauty of the gorge. You can go through the man-made tunnel on the right bank and see it from there. The view is impressive, especially at sunset. Or you can go along the Trna eco-path, which after 3 kilometers can take you to the village of Bankya.
The Erma River rises from the Vlasina mountain near the village of Klisura in Serbia. It is small, with an average annual runoff of 2-3 cubic meters per second. and a length of 65 kilometers, of which only 25 are on the territory of Bulgaria. It enters our country at Strezimirovtsi, passes through Trun and after the Lomnish gorge leaves us again to flow into Nishava. But before merging with it, it forms one of the most magnificent and beautiful gorges in the whole of South-Eastern Europe – the Poganovsky Gorge.
How can one not remember precisely at this place the ecstatic lines written by Aleko in his famous travelogue “What? Switzerland?!…”: “Tsaribrod is sunk in the fog. Look now to the southwest. Do you see those rugged gray giant rocks glistening in the sun. They thus descend parallel to the abyss where the river Erma flows. … Now no force can restrain you, no distance can frighten you, you forget all the conditions and obligations of your city life and you are striving towards that paradise, which gradually opens up to you, and discovers new and new lovely and varied pictures… The rocks, soon! God, what is this precipice! What is that abyss there, from which clouds rise to heaven?.. . Don’t stop, go on! Just a little more, one more hill… Look now!… At this moment will someone sigh for Tyrol and Switzerland, so that I can smudge him in the mouth!… Now how can I describe that one colossal gates formed by the multi-colored rocks in which my gaze is fixed?…”
