Golyam Beglik is a reservoir near the central parts of the
Rhodope Mountains,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. It was formerly officially called the Vasil Kolarov reservoir in honour of
Vasil Kolarov
Vasil Petrov Kolarov ( bg, Васил Петров Коларов; 16 July 1877 – 23 January 1950) was a Bulgarian communist political leader and leading functionary in the Communist International (Comintern).
Biography Early years
Kolarov wa ...
, a communist political leader of the
People's Republic of Bulgaria
The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...
.
Geography
The reservoirs
Batak,
Beglika,
Shiroka Polyana and Golyam Beglik are the main tourist places in the region of
Batak. Except Batak, the other dam lakes are located to the north and to the south between 1450 and 1560 m altitude, and Golyam Beglik is the largest in area- 4,1 km
2.
The area around Golyam Beglik and the other reservoirs is called Beglika Plain. It is surrounded by the Batak Mountain (Баташка планина) and Syutkya Range from the north and west, and is gradually merged with the Veliytsa-Videnitsa Range of the Rhodope Mountains and its branches on the south and east.
Golyam Beglik is supplied by small rivers and streams from Syutkya Range, of which the largest ones are Cherno Dere and Zhalto Dere. It discharges by a stream that joins another stream coming from the smaller Beglika reservoir. These two streams form Devinska River which flows into Vacha River, and then to Maritsa River.
Flora and fauna
The area around Golyam Beglik is included in the Beglika Natural Reserve that covers large parts of Beglika Plain. Most of this area is covered by coniferous forests- mainly Norwegian spruce and White pine. The Beglika Plain has a rich variety of mountain streams and there are a lot of meadows around them.
There is a large diversity of wildlife near the reservoir territory. There are
bear,
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
,
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
es,
wolves, as well as smaller animals such as
rabbits,
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...
s,
squirrels. There are also many wild
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
s and geese near its water areas. The place is well suited for developing hunting tourism that is traditional in the region.
Tourism
The main way to reach Golyam Beglik and the surrounding area is by the road connecting the towns of Batak and Dospat. Currently, tourism is not very developed, and there are only some private villa areas, and a small private hotel, called Siniya Zaliv (Blue Bay). An interesting place is Chatama (Чатъма), located at the western shores of the reservoir. This is not only a complex of bungalows that offer accommodation, but also a center of Bikearea organization that provides summer camps, trekking, biking and other kinds of adventurous tours.
External links Golyam Beglik reservoir in Google MapsBeglika Plain and reservoires info
Reservoirs in Bulgaria
Buildings and structures in Pazardzhik Province
Rhodope Mountains
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