site.btaGathering Celebrates 95 Years of Caving Movement in Bulgaria

Bulgaria has 6,200 documented caves which are in the catalogue of the country's Speleology Federation (BFS), and there is information about another 600 to 700 caves, BFS President Petar Delchev and Bulgarian Caving Society President Alexei Stoev told BTA on Friday.

The 95th anniversary of the national Caving Movement was celebrated with a three-day gathering near the Orlova Chuka Cave in the Ruse area (by the Danube).

Delchev said that professionals are beginning to compile a more comprehensive catalogue and build a database on caves, but the effort will take around 20-30 years. Stoev noted that even now, the existing catalogue is a huge asset created by several generations of spelunkers.

The BFS has enough young members, Stoev added. For example, the deepest cave in Bulgaria, Kolkina Dupka, which is 24 km long, is being explored by a club of exclusively young members because the cave has a very complex structure. To explore its remotest parts, it is necessary to build four underground camps and have everyone spend a week in a subsurface environment. It is dark, humidity is 100%, it is cold and wet.

According to Delchev, there are 12 caves in this country which may be visited by tourists. These places are electrified and well-lit.

Stoev said: "We know how droughts affect Bulgaria. The issue of karst water will be growing in importance in the coming years. Therefore, the government should support the physical and chemical studies in caves and cave areas. This is a key issue. It has a bearing on the economy, industry and society as a whole because karst water feeds into the potable water for many settlements."