Chepino Valley

The Chepino Valley (), or Chepino ( bg, Чепино, link=no), is the largest valley in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder i ...

in southern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. It is situated along the course of the

Chepino River The Chepino Valley (), or Chepino ( bg, Чепино, link=no), is the largest valley in the Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria. It is situated along the course of the Chepino River near the Batak Mountains in the northwestern part of the ...

near the

Batak Mountains Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba ...

in the northwestern part of the Rhodopes. Located at around 750 m above sea level, it is between 4 and 7 km wide and 18 km long. The bottom of the Chepino Valley is comparatively flat, although hills can also be found. The valley's fault structure is the reason for the frequent earthquakes in the area, as well as for the high number of

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage unde ...

s, numbering more than 80 and making the Chepino Valley an important tourist destination in the Rhodopes. Due to its geographic location, the valley has a considerably milder climate than that in other parts of Bulgaria. The slopes that surround the valley are covered with venerable coniferous forests, mainly of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

. The second highest peak of the Rhodopes, Golyama Syutkya, is located nearby, and an important city in the valley is

Velingrad Velingrad ( bg, Велинград ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative center of the homonymous Velingrad Municipality a ...

. The valley takes its name from the medieval Bulgarian fortress of

Tsepina Tsepina ( bg, Цепина) or Tzepaina ( el, Τζέπαινα) was a castle and town in the western Rhodope mountains, southern Bulgaria, now in ruins. It is from the Dorkovo village in the north-eastern part of the Chepino Valley. Tsepina is ...

, the capital of the domain of Despot Alexius Slav in the 13th century, which was excavated near the village of

Dorkovo Dorkovo ( bg, Дорково; rup, Dorcova) is a village in the Rakitovo municipality, Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The population of the village is 2,955. Aromanians live in the village. Geography Dorkovo is situated in the western Rh ...

. In the early 17th century, the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...

Bulgarian inhabitants of the valley were

Islamized Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

by the Ottoman authorities of the time, and thus today the population is mixed, with both Orthodox Bulgarians and

Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...

(Muslim Bulgarians) inhabiting the valley. Valleys of Bulgaria Landforms of Pazardzhik Province Rhodope Mountains {{Pazardzhik-geo-stub