We offer walking tours in search of wild horses. Price: BGN 100 to hire a driver.
The Eastern Rhodopes are the only place in Bulgaria where you can see descendants of the wild Eurasian horse - tarpan /Equus ferus/. Although this type of wild horse has long since disappeared from our fauna, its genes have been preserved in many domestic horse breeds. The restoration of the tarpan was carried out on the basis of a selection of domestic horses that were crossed with tarpans in the past. In the past, tarpans lived from Spain to Scandinavia and central Russia. According to literary data, paleontological finds from tarpan have also been found in Bulgaria.
The modern history of the species in Bulgaria dates back to 2011, when the first 12 animals were imported from the Netherlands, with the help of the Bulgarian-Dutch project "The New Thracian Gold". Currently, the idea of reintroduction of tarpans in our country can be considered successfully implemented, and as of 2016, more than 70 horses live in the wild nature of the Eastern Rhodopes. These animals survive completely independently among the wolves, and the monitoring of the development of their population is carried out by our friends from the Foundation "Friends of the Rhodope Cows" and the project "Wild Rhodopes".
At the moment there are two herds, in two different places, walking to them is a real adventure. The walking routes are long – about 5 hours in total (going + returning). Starting points for the tour can be the areas of Madjarovo and the village of Dolno Cherkovishte ("Perpera" complex). The journey by car (bus) is about 1 hour, after which the pedestrian part follows. During the tour we focus on the super interesting geology of the area and the biological diversity. For groups of up to 7 people, our transport (high passable vehicle) can be used and the pedestrian part can be reduced to a minimum.
Seeing wild horses in nature is an experience that one remembers for a lifetime! We will tell you about the life of these extremely beautiful animals, about their social behavior, about their survival among wolves and their ecological role in nature.
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The search for wild horses is perfectly combined with the search for minerals in the Studen Kladenets area, watching other birds, amphibians and reptiles, feeding the vultures, visiting historical sites or kayaking on the Studen Kladenets Dam.