River
Source of the Arda & Ardin Peak
A panoramic walk to the spring of the Arda beneath a century-old beech, with an optional climb to Ardin Peak (1,730 m) on the Greek border.
The Arda is the longest Rhodope river in Bulgaria, and it rises at the foot of Ardin Peak (1,730 m), only a few hundred metres from the Greek border. The marked footpath is panoramic and crosses wide clearings with views toward the villages of Gorna Arda and Bilyantsi and toward Mount Kom and Golyam Perelik.
It passes the Dyad Ryaka complex at the base of Ardin Peak, where visitors can try trout and other clean local food, then enters cool forest before reaching the spring. The Arda springs from beneath the roots of a century-old beech, in a clearing ringed by trees, with fire pits, benches and a shelter, a good place for a picnic and a rest.
Walkers who wish to continue can follow a marked trail to Ardin Peak, through which the Bulgarian-Greek border runs; the view takes in both the Bulgarian and the Greek Rhodopes. A circular option is also possible, starting from Bilyantsi and descending toward the Geranitsa complex and Gorna Arda.