Damga () is a summit in the northwestern part of the

Rila Mountain Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 m whi ...

in southwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

reaching height of 2,669 m. Damga is the main orographic node of northwestern Rila, connecting the ridges of

Malyovitsa Malyovitsa ( ) is a peak in the northwestern part of the Rila Mountain in southwestern Bulgaria. It is high and is one of the most popular tourist regions in the mountain. Its northern and eastern slopes are steep and almost inaccessible while t ...

and Otovitsa. The peak is an impressive massif with mostly dome-shaped outlines. It dominates the western parts of the Urdina cirque containing the

Urdini Lakes The Urdini Lakes ( ) are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila, Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. They are not as popular with the tourists as the Seven Rila Lakes further west, because they are situated in the most difficultly a ...

, where its slopes are steep and rocky. To the west, the slopes of the summit gently descend to the grassy folds of the Malko and Golyamo Pazardere meadows. It is built up of

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

. The main watershed of the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

passes through Damga, continuing north through the summit of Haramiyata (2,465 m) and along the ridge separating the rivers Dzherman belonging to the Aegean basin and Cherni Iskar belonging to the Black Sea basin. There are several tourist trails accessing Damga. Through its southwestern slopes passes the summer trail the Seven Lakes refuge to the

Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski" (), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in th ...

. The winter trail from the Maliovitsa refuge to Ivan Vazov refuge intersects the highest point and to the north there is a trail to the

Seven Rila Lakes The Seven Rila Lakes (, ) are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. Situated between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level, they are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria. Each lake ca ...

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Great Encyclopedia Bulgaria, 2012 , title = Географски речник на България, том 5 , trans-title = Great Encyclopedia Bulgaria, Vol. 5 , last1 = Научноинформационен център „Българска енциклопедия“ (Scientific-Information Center "Bulgarian Encyclopedia") , first1 = , chapter = , year = 2012 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Книгоиздателска къща „Труд“ (Trud Publishing House) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = 9789548104272 Mountains of Rila Landforms of Sofia Province Two-thousanders of Bulgaria