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Duhlata () is a
Duhlata is situated in the south-western area of Vitosha on the left bank of the river Struma near the village of Bosnek, Pernik Province. The entrance of the cave is located at the very road between Bosnek and Chuypetlovo.
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
situated in Vitosha
Vitosha ( ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and ...
mountain, western 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 ...
. With a total length of 18,200 m, Duhlata is the second longest (since 2022) cave in the country. It was declared a natural monument in 1962. The cave is home to six species of bat
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
s.
Location
Duhlata is situated in the south-western area of Vitosha on the left bank of the river Struma near the village of Bosnek, Pernik Province. The entrance of the cave is located at the very road between Bosnek and Chuypetlovo.
Description
The name of the cave originated from the sounds of the wind through its entrance, from Bulgarian ''духам'' (transl. ''duham''), meaning ''to whistle''. Duhlata is 18,200 m long and 53 m deep. The cave is well studied and mapped and boasts great diversity ofspeleothem
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...
s. Duhlata is one of the most complex cave systems in Bulgaria and was created by underground currents of the Struma River. It is a maze of tunnels, galleries, underground lakes, waterfalls and sinter formations situated at seven levels. There are six subterranean rivers.
It is home to 22 species of known animal species, including six bat
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
species. The stygofauna
Stygofauna are any fauna that live in groundwater systems or aquifers, such as caves, fissures and vugs. Stygofauna and troglofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environmen ...
include 11 Copepod
Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...
s, 2 Amphipoda
Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...
, 1 Syncarida
Syncarida is a superorder of crustaceans, comprising the two extant order (biology), orders Anaspidacea and Bathynellacea, and the extinct order Palaeocaridacea.
Taxonomy
Fifty-nine living genera are known, in six families:
;Anaspidacea Calman, ...
and 1 Acari
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as ea ...
species, and the only species of the troglofauna
Troglofauna are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofa ...
is the pseudoscorpion
Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are small, scorpion-like arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida.
Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans bec ...
''Neobisium kwartirnikovi''. The diversity of worms (Nematoda
The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitism, parasitic. Parasitic ...
, Oligochaeta
Oligochaeta () is a subclass of soft-bodied animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadril ...
), snails (Mollusca
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
) and seed shrimps ( Ostracoda) has not been studied.
Access to the cave is restricted. Duhlata can be visited only by researchers or experienced cavers with permission by Vitosha Nature Park Directorate.
See also
* Geography of Bulgaria * List of caves in Bulgaria * List of protected areas of Bulgaria * List of rock formations in BulgariaCitations
External links
* * {{Caves in Bulgaria Caves of Bulgaria Vitosha Landforms of Pernik Province Tourist attractions in Pernik Province