It's still mid-May, but the feeling of summer is already in the air. During the nice warm weekends, we want to escape the city bustle, even for a little while. That's why we decided to give you an idea for a wonderful relaxing walk in the outskirts of Sofia - to the legendary spring "Zhivata Voda" (“Living Water”).

Our starting point is the village of Kladnitsa near Sofia, perched on the southern slopes of Vitosha. If you are going there by car, it's better to get off at the exit from the village to the forest to save yourself a long walk on dusty asphalt.

For a moderate-paced walk from the village to the spring and back, set aside about four hours. To get to your destination, follow the blue markings.

However, you need to be careful, as this marking often disappears in the greenery and you might end up in another place.

It is possible that some young dirt bikers pass by you. But otherwise the route is quiet and pleasant and there are not many people on it.

The nature is diverse - alternating beech and birch forests, lower shrub vegetation, lilacs, meadows with beautiful white asphodel

and other fragrant flowers, strawberries and herbs. Wild garlic can be found in the area of ​​the spring.

Near the "Living Water" there is a cave, as well as a shelter with a place to light a fire, offering a wonderful opportunity for a picnic near the murmur of the water. People claim that it has healing powers. But even if it is not so, it is always nice to refresh yourself after a hike in the mountains.

A peculiarity of the karst spring, which is also the purpose of our walk today, is that the water comes out of it in spurts – sometimes it appears, sometimes it stops, which gives rise to many legends around it. People say that the spring is sensitive to sinful souls – if a sinner stands in front of it, the water dries up, but for the righteous it flows in abundance. But there is another, more rational explanation for the phenomenon. The water collects in a cavity underground and when it is full, it pours out to the surface. The water is captured and flows from a stone sculpture of a dragon’s head – the guardian of the spring.

Local people say that it was made on a voluntary basis by stonemason from the village of Kladnitsa, Negri Rangelov Budinov, in the 1950s.

Author: Miglena Ivanova

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Miglena Ivanova