Devil’s Throat Cave
The Devil's Throat Cave is 17 kilometers from Devin in the Western Rhodopes. It's one of the caves that doesn't have dazzlingly beautiful rock formations. The prospect of going on a true adventure of discovery, taking part in a strange and awe-inspiring underground country, fascinates visitors. The cave's entrance resembles a devil's head, and a tremendous waterfall cascades down its throat, captivating imaginations and inspiring various legends since ancient times.
Orpheus descended this opening to the underground kingdom of Hades in search of his lost love Eurydice, according to the most common version. Without branching in either direction, the cave descends straight down. The Trigrad River's water cascades down the cave's "throat" from a height of 42 meters, making it the Balkan Peninsula's highest underground waterfall. The cavern into which the waterfall falls is known as The Hall of Thunder because of the cascade's muffled roar. It's massive – Bulgaria's second-largest cavern. The water disappears via a funnel around 400 meters from the entrance. This funnel is more than 150 meters deep, and the underground river exits the cave and runs out amid the mountain peaks through another cave after emerging from the funnel into a 60-meter-long cavern.
The fact that nothing carried into The Devil's Mouth Cave by the river returns is a startling reality. Many attempts have been made to follow wood and other materials through the cave, but they invariably vanish without a trace in the underground river, piquant interest and teasing the imagination. Experiments with dyes have revealed that it takes more than 112 hours for water to travel the short distance between two openings, prompting assumptions about the cave's huge subsurface stream system.
Late spring and summer are the greatest times to come to The Devil's Throat Cave, when the cave's entrance is surrounded by energizing vegetation and the Rhodopes are at their most attractive. From the beginning of May to the end of October, the local spelunkers' club conducts boat descents into the caves. The club supplies all the essential equipment, including boats, life jackets, and life rafts.
Region: Trigrad, Bulgaria
