Golyam Mermer () is a summit in the western part of the Rila mountain range 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 2,602 m. It is located on the boundary between

Rila National Park Rila National Park () is the largest national park in Bulgaria spanning an area of in the Rila mountain range in the south-west of the country. History It was established on 24 February 1992 to protect several ecosystems of national importanc ...

and

Rila Monastery Nature Park Rila Monastery Nature Park () is one of the largest nature parks in Bulgaria, spanning a territory of in the western part of the Rila mountain range at an altitude between . It is in Rila Municipality, Kyustendil Province and includes forests, m ...

. The summit is located on the Malyovitsa ridge west of the imposing summit 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 ...

(2,729 m), from which it is separated through the wide Mermera saddle. The Malyovitsa ridge forms 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 ...

separating the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

drainage basin to the north and the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

one to the south. Northwest of Golyam Mermer are located the glacial

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 ...

. South of the summit beings the Dalgia ridge, along which passes the winter trail 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 ...

, situated south in the valley of the

Rilska River The Rilska River (, ''Rilska reka'', "Rila River") is a river in south-western Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Struma (river), Struma. The river is 51 km long and drains the western sections of the Rila mountain range. Geography Under t ...

. Along the summit passes the trail from the Malyovitsa refuge to the Ivan Vazov refuge (6 hours) and the summer trail to the Rila Monastery via the valley of the river Malka Drushlyavitsa.

Gallery

File:Гледка на югозапад от Голям Мраморец.jpg File:Гледка от Малък Мраморец към Югозападна Рила.jpg

Citations

References

* * * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Yankov, 2004 , title = Rila Monastery Nature Park. Management Plan 2004–2013 (Природен парк "Рилски манастир". План за управление 2004–2013) , url = http://chm.moew.government.bg/nnps/files/Rila_Monastery_Bul.pdf , last = Yankov (Янков) , first = Petar (Петър) , chapter = , year = 2004 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Ministry of Environment and Water , location =

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, isbn = Mountains of Rila Landforms of Kyustendil Province Landforms of Sofia Province Two-thousanders of Bulgaria