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Vitosha Nature Park, Bulgaria, Bulgaria

Monica Kochman

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The territory of Vitosha nature park has been changed many times and today is 26,606 hectares, which is over 90% of the total mountain. There are two reserves within the park?s territory ? Bistrishko branishte and Torfeno branishte. They have been established to preserve in their original state the coniferous forests, the alpine grass vegetation and the most considerable for Bulgaria complex of alpine peat whose thickness reaches up to 2 metres. The Reserve Bistrishko branishte has been proclaimed by UNESCO for a biospheric one and is part of the world network of biospheric reserves. Fifty two plants which can be found in the park are included in the Red Book of Bulgaria. Ten species of amphibians (3 tailed species and 7 species of frogs) and 12 species of reptiles (6 species of lizards and 6 species of snakes) have been identified in the park. Among the most endangered ones are the viper, the mountain lizard, the salamander, the blindworm and etc. 236 species of birds are known in Vitosha, 120 of them nest there. Recently, on the territory of the park some rare or endangered species can be seen : goshawk, black stork, eagle owl, golden eagle, etc.

The bat fauna is most diversified in the Bosneshki karst region. Ten out of the 13 known species in Vitosha can be found there. Near to the village of Bosnek is the longest cave in Bulgaria ? Duhlata - with length of 17.5 km. Despite the massive extermination during the 20s of last century, the bear population has been partially restored and there are 9 bears at the moment. In Vitosha all predatory and wild hoofed animals characteristic for the Bulgarian mountains can be seen: wolves, foxes, martens, deer, does, etc. The lynx and the wild goat disappeared from the mountain fauna at the beginning of last century.

The stone screes and the stone rivers are unique for Vitosha. The biggest such area is the Zlatnite mostove (Golden bridges). There are ten peaks in Vitosha which are over 2000 m, the highest of them being peak Cherni vruh (Black peak) which is 2290m high and is positioned in the centre of the mountain. Each of the four mountain parts of Vitosha starts from it. The biggest waterfall in Vitosha is Boyana fall ? the water falls 40 m. It is situated 1300 m above sea level in the valley of Boyana river.