St. Thomas Island

St. Thomas Island ranks 3rd on the list of the most beautiful islands in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian island of St. Thomas (also known as Zmiyski ostrov) is located 15 kilometers south of Sozopol in the Black Sea. It is one of the rare spots in Bulgaria where wild cacti flourish, with an area of 0.012 square kilometers. The Opuntia cactus were transported from the Botanical Garden in Bratislava, Slovakia, and planted under Tsar Boris III's instructions in 1933 by royal botanist Ivan Buresh. Since then, they've engulfed the majority of the island.

St. Thomas Island takes its name from a church dedicated to Saint Thomas that previously stood on the island. The other name, Snake Island, relates to the large number of greywater snakes that live on the island and feed on fish. The island is part of the Ropotamo nature reserve and is located in Arkutino Bay, 0.2 nautical miles southeast of Humata Foreland. In 1955, the first archaeological expedition to the island uncovered the remnants of a modest church and several ancillary structures. Archaeologists discovered an ancient Thracian settlement from the early Iron Age, ancient Thracian ritual pits, a Byzantine settlement from the 5th–6th century AD, a small monastery from the 12th–14th century, and a sunken fortress from Ancient Thrace in the waters during a new archaeological expedition in 2018.

Location: Black Sea, Bulgaria

Area: 83 km2