Golyam Beglik is a reservoir near the central parts of 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 in ...

, Bulgaria. It was formerly officially called the Vasil Kolarov reservoir in honour of Vasil Kolarov, a communist political leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.

Geography

The reservoirs

Batak 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, ...

, Beglika, Shiroka Polyana and Golyam Beglik are the main tourist places in the region of

. Except Batak, the other dam lakes are located to the north and to the south between 1450 and 1560 m altitude, and Golyam Beglik is the largest in area- 4,1 km². The area around Golyam Beglik and the other reservoirs is called Beglika Plain. It is surrounded by the Batak Mountain (Баташка планина) and Syutkya Range from the north and west, and is gradually merged with the Veliytsa-Videnitsa Range of the Rhodope Mountains and its branches on the south and east. Golyam Beglik is supplied by small rivers and streams from Syutkya Range, of which the largest ones are Cherno Dere and Zhalto Dere. It discharges by a stream that joins another stream coming from the smaller Beglika reservoir. These two streams form Devinska River which flows into Vacha River, and then to Maritsa River.

Flora and fauna

The area around Golyam Beglik is included in the Beglika Natural Reserve that covers large parts of Beglika Plain. Most of this area is covered by coniferous forests- mainly Norwegian spruce and White pine. The Beglika Plain has a rich variety of mountain streams and there are a lot of meadows around them. There is a large diversity of wildlife near the reservoir territory. There are

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, deer,

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

es, wolves, as well as smaller animals such as

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s, hedgehogs,

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

s. There are also many wild ducks and geese near its water areas. The place is well suited for developing hunting tourism that is traditional in the region.

Tourism

The main way to reach Golyam Beglik and the surrounding area is by the road connecting the towns of Batak and Dospat. Currently, tourism is not very developed, and there are only some private villa areas, and a small private hotel, called Siniya Zaliv (Blue Bay). An interesting place is Chatama (Чатъма), located at the western shores of the reservoir. This is not only a complex of bungalows that offer accommodation, but also a center of Bikearea organization that provides summer camps, trekking, biking and other kinds of adventurous tours.

External links

Golyam Beglik reservoir in Google MapsBeglika Plain and reservoires info
Reservoirs in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Pazardzhik Province Rhodope Mountains {{Bulgaria-struct-stub