Bolata ( bg, Болата) is a small

cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

and

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in the Northern

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (), also known as the Bulgarian Riviera, covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coast ...

. Bolata is a locality located in the bay of the same name and is part of the Kaliakra Reserve. It is located in the northern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast near the village of Bulgarevo and near a former military station. The area is a wetland of great importance for few rare plant and animal species. The sandy beach is of natural origin and is unique for scandalous shores in the Kaliakra area. A small river has created a narrow gorge and flows into the swamp "Bolata" (Lake Bolata) with an area of 23 ha, covered with a vast mass of reeds. The limestone rocks in the area should be red in color, creating iron oxides in the clay that fill their cracks. The bay is part of the Natura 2000 Kaliakra Complex protected area.

Bolata Cove

Bolata cove is located at the northern rocky coastline of the Bulgarian seaside. It is 3 km to the north of the

Kaliakra Kaliakra ( bg, Калиакра; ro, Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland east of Kavarna, northeast of Varna and southwest of Mangalia. The ...

headland. The nearest settlements are Bulgarevo village in about 5 km distance and the town of

Kavarna Kavarna ( bg, Каварна ; ro, Cavarna), is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies northeast of Varna, from Dobrich on the international road E87 and south of the border with Ro ...

in 13 km to the west. The place represents a small cove with a semi-circular shape, featuring a sandy beach. All this is between a brick-colored high cliffs at the end of a rocky canyon. There is a very small river flowing into the sea. This is the only approachable place where the sea can be reached for kilometers of cliffs spread out northwards and southwards.

History

In the caves around are found remnants of an ancient settlement dated as far back as 4th century B.C. In the area of Bolata was also found a

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

which testify to the foreign trade relation of the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. During the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, on the right side of the canyon above the cove, there was built a top secret base. That's why few people knew about the place. There is some talk about a telephone cable that started from here and through the cove and sea connected leaders of Bulgaria and

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The semi-abandoned buildings and a watch-tower can be seen nowadays on the plateau around Bolata.

The Reserve

In the sky of Bolata cove passes the so-called

Via Pontica Via Pontica was an ancient Roman road in Thrace along the Black Sea, starting from Byzantium and passing through Develtos, Deultum (today Debelt), Aquae Calidae, Bulgaria, Aquae Calidae (today an outlying neighborhood of Burgas), Apollonia, Thrace, ...

one of the main roads (north to south) of the migratory birds. Bolata is the only reserve in Bulgaria that includes sea area in its territory. Many interesting species make their nests here. Among them are: *

Little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

(''Ixobrychus minutus'') *

Little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

(''Tachybaptus ruficollis'') *

Common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

(''Alcedo atthis'') *

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

(''Anas platyrhynchos'') *

Tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

(''Aythya fuligula'') *

Grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

(''Ardea cinerea'') In the area of

and Bolata can be often seen

short-beaked common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...

(''Delphinus delphis''). Of the herbaceous species, common ginger, bulbous meadow, common reed, other cereals, and others are found. Characteristic of the area are shrubs, cup-tufts, fights, jasmine shrubs and more. Several species of amphibians and reptiles are found, such as protected species of Syrian garlic, brown toad, spiked turtle. Above the lake passes Via Pontica, one of the largest airways of migratory birds throughout Europe. Therefore, nesting or passing waterfowl can be observed in the bay - a small water bull, a small diver, a tern, a large cormorant, a river tern, a white-tailed duck and other species of ducks and geese. Cracks and niches are important habitats for bats and steppe mammals, which are typical for the area, white-bellied white-tooth, small white-tooth, common gray voles and more. Plain dolphin can be observed in the waters near the bay

Culture and tourism

Remains of an ancient settlement and evidence of life dating back to 400 BC have been found in the caves of Bolata, as well as the Maltese Cross - a testimony to the trade of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom with Venice and Genoa. Also discovered are stone circles, sacrificial stones, rock caves - dwellings. The beach is also widely known as a dive site. A steep path to the north ascends to the top of the rock wall, offering a view of the entire gorge. Today the beach is popular with locals and tourists alike. It has fine sand and warm clean water. Behind the beach itself, however, the remnants of a once-public establishment and public toilet (which continues to be used today as a toilet) significantly spoil the experience. The human presence in this protected area has left a serious imprint on all sorts of junk.

Gallery

File:BolataCove2.jpg, Bolata beach File:BolataCove3.jpg, the ex-secret base File:BolataCove4.jpg, the watch-tower on the edge of the plateau File:BolataCove5.jpg

References

Bolata

External links

Satellite Map - Bolata Cove
{{Bulgaria topics Bulgarian Black Sea Coast Beaches of Bulgaria Nature reserves in Bulgaria Coves Bays of Bulgaria Landforms of Dobrich Province