Golyam Beglik is a reservoir near the central parts of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) 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 Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

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 ...

. It was formerly officially called the Vasil Kolarov reservoir in honour of

Vasil Kolarov Vasil Petrov Kolarov (; 16 July 1877 – 23 January 1950) was a Bulgarian communist political leader and leading functionary in the Communist International (Comintern). Biography Early years Kolarov was born in Şumnu, Ottoman Empire (now Shum ...

, a communist political leader of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

Geography

The reservoirs

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

, 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 1,450 and 1,560 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 with 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 (biology), 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 ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow 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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

es, wolves, as well as smaller animals such as

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

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

s. There are also many wild

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s 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
{{Authority control Reservoirs in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Pazardzhik Province Rhodope Mountains