Geyser fountain, Sapareva Banya
The only one of its kind on the Balkan Peninsula. The water erupts at 103 °C — the hottest geyser in continental Europe, several degrees hotter than Italy's Soffioni and Giorgitella.
The Area
The municipality of Sapareva Banya lies in south-western Bulgaria at 750 m above sea level, directly beneath the slopes of the Rila mountains. The town is 75 km from Sofia and 15 km east of Dupnitsa.
Landmarks
The Seven Rila Lakes
A gathering place and a sacred site for spiritual communion with nature. Every year on 19 August, followers of Peter Deunov's teaching — the White Brotherhood — gather here to celebrate their holiday.
Skakavitsa Nature Reserve
Covers the Skakavitsa and Mala Skakavitsa localities — from Zeleni Preslap to the Skakavitsa waterfall, reaching the high-mountain pastures at the springs of the Goritsa river to the south-west.
The landscape is predominantly mountainous — the steep slopes of the Kabul ridge of north-western Rila, the deep valleys of the Dzherman and Goritsa rivers, and the cirques of the Seven Rila Lakes.
Festivals & fairs
- Kukeri gamesEvery year on 1 January — marking the start of the new year.
- Todorovden (horse races)The first Saturday of Great Lent. Traditional horse racing.
- St George's Day6 May — a fair in the Gyorgevo quarter, with wrestling and a lamb as the prize.
- Sapareva Banya town festivalThe last Saturday and Sunday of May.
- Mineral Water FestivalHeld during the month of July.
- Feast of the Holy Mother of God15 August — in Sapareva Banya and the villages of Ovchartsi and Saparevo.
- Resilovo village fair1 October — Resilovo Monastery "Protection of the Holy Mother of God".
- Christmas concert25 December.