Samokov Valley () is situated in 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 ...

, less than 25 km south of the outskirts of the capital

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 ...

. It is named after the town of

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

, its main settlement. The valley is a hub for tourism in the neighbouring

Rila Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an e ...

mountain range to the south, the highest in Bulgaria and the

Balkans 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 ...

Geography

The valley is enclosed between

to the south and the mountain ranges of

Verila Verila ( ) is a mountain range in western Bulgaria with an altitude of 1,415 meters above sea level. It is part of the Ruy (mountain), Ruy–Verila mountain chain. Verila Glacier on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica ...

to the west,

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 ...

to the northwest, Plana to the north and the Shipochanski ridge of

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the river Iskar (river), Iskar to the west and the elbow of river Tundzha north of the city of Yambol to the east. ...

to the east. To the north the

Pancharevo Gorge Pancharevo Gorge (Pancharevo saddle) is a deep and narrow gorge in the upper stream of the Iskar River in western Bulgaria. It is sandwiched between the mountains of Vitosha and Plana to the southwest and the Lozen Mountain to the northeast. The g ...

of the river

Iskar Iskar may refer to: ;Bulgaria * Iskar (river), a river in western Bulgaria * Iskar Reservoir, situated on the Iskar River * Iskar (town), a town in the Iskar Municipality of the Pleven Province * Iskar Municipality * Iskar, Sofia, one of 24 munici ...

connects it with the

Sofia Valley The Sofia Valley (), or Sofia Field (), is situated in central western Bulgaria. It is the second of the succession of the eleven Sub-Balkan valleys in direction west–east and is the largest of them in area and population. It is named after th ...

. It is also connected with the Radomir Valley via the Buka Preslap saddle (1,090 m) to the northwest, the

Dupnitsa Valley Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second largest town in Kyu ...

via the Klisura saddle (1,025 m) to the southwest, and the

Kostenets–Dolna Banya Valley Kostenets–Dolna Banya Valley () is situated in western Bulgaria. It is named after the towns of Kostenets and Dolna Banya. The valley has a length of 18 km and a width of up to 5 km. The altitude is 520–680 m. Geography The ...

via the Borovets saddle to the southeast. The valley has an irregular shape resembling an arch bulging in southeastern direction with a length of 55 km and a maximum width of 10 km. It spans a territory of 185 km² with an average altitude is 950 m, making it one of the highest valleys in Bulgaria. The Samokov Valley is divided in two parts — a western Palakaria section and an eastern Iskar section, the latter is further subdivided in the Upper and Lower Samokov field. In 1955 the Lower Samokov field was submerged under the

Iskar Reservoir The Iskar Reservoir (язовир „Искър“) is the largest reservoir in Bulgaria. Situated on the Iskar River, it provides two-third of the water for the capital Sofia, and also produces hydroelectricity. The reservoir has a total volume ...

. The valley was formed during the

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

–

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

period as a result of subsidence along the surrounding faults. During the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 The climate is temperate continental with Alpine influence. The average annual temperature is 7.3 °C, with an average of -3.4 °C in January and 17.3 °C in June. The mean annual precipitation is 653 mm. The valley is drained by the longest river entirely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, and its tributaries the

Palakaria The Palakaria () is a river in south-western Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Iskar. The river is 39 km long and takes its source from the southern slopes of the summit of Kupena in Vitosha mountain range at an altitude of 2,015 m. It f ...

(left), the

Musalenska Bistritsa The Musalenska Bistritsa () is a 19 km-long river in western Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Iskar. Geography The river takes its source from the Icy Lake, the highest of the Musala Lakes at an altitude of 2,709 m, north of t ...

(right) and the Shipochanitsa (right). The predominant soils are alluvial.

Settlements, transportation and economy

Administratively, it falls in

Sofia Province Sofia Province () is a province (''oblast'') of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains the seat of its administration. The province borders on the provinces of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Paz ...

, on the territory of

Samokov Municipality Samokov ( ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports condi ...

. There are one town and 13 villages — the town of

and the villages of Alino,

Belchin Belchin () is a village in the Sofia Province southwestern Bulgaria, located in the Samokov Municipality. As of the 2024 the village had a population of 367. Geography Belchin is located in the Samokov Valley at the foothills of the Rila mo ...

Belchinski Bani Belchinski Bani () is a village and a spa resort in the Sofia Province southwestern Bulgaria, located in the Samokov Municipality. As of the 2024 the village had a population of 22. Geography Belchinski Bani is located in the Samokov Valley at ...

, Dospey, Dragushinovo, Zlokuchene, Kovachevtsi, Popovyane, Prodanovtsi, Rayovo, Relyovo,

Shiroki Dol Shiroky may refer to: * Shiroky, Amur Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Amur Oblast, Russia * Shiroky, Magadan Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Magadan Oblast Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Ru ...

and

Yarlovo Yarlovo () is a village in Samokov municipality of Sofia Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It is located 24 kilometers from the capital Sofia. It is situated in Samokov Valley on the west slopes of the Vitosha mountain massif; the altitude exce ...

. The valley is served by five roads of the national network, as well as local roads. From west to east in its southern reaches passes a 12.1 km stretch of the second class II-62 road

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, near the borders of ...

–

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second largest town in Ky ...

–Samokov. From north to south in its eastern parts between the dam of the Iskar Reservoir and the Borovets saddle the valley is traversed by a 32.9 km section of the second class II-82 road

–Samokov–

Kostenets Kostenets ( ) is a town in Sofia Province in western Bulgaria, and the administrative centre of the Kostenets Municipality (which also contains a separate Kostenets (village), village of Kostenets). The town is situated in the Kostenets–Dolna B ...

. In direction north–south in its western areas between the villages of Kovachevtsi and Popovyane there is 6.2 km stretch of the third class III-181 road Sofia– Zheleznitsa–Popovyane; to the west along the valley of the river Palakaria there is also a 27.5 km section of the third class III-627 road Samokov–

Dolna Dikanya Dolna may refer to: * Dolna, Strzelce County, a village in Gmina Leśnica, Poland * Dolna, Strășeni, a commune in Strășeni District, Moldova * ''Dolna'' (film), a 1990 Bangladeshi film See also

* {{disambig, geo ...

– Radomir. In the easternmost part passes a 6.2 km stretch of the third class III-822 road Samokov– Novo Selo–

Ihtiman Ihtiman ( ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the Ihtiman Valley of the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountain range and lies in a valley 48 km from Sofia and 95 km from Plovdiv, close to the Trakiya moto ...

. There are favourable conditions for growing cold-resistant crops, such as cereals, flax, potatoes, fruits. The town of Samokov is the local manufacturing hub producing machinery, military products, textiles, food. The valley and its surroundings have numerous tourist attractions. Samokov was an important cultural center of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

and has historical buildings, churches and museums. Belchinski Bani is a

spa resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs. In the era before modern biochemistry and pharmacoth ...

; the local mineral springs have a total discharge of 24 L/sec and temperature of 40–41.5 °C, Near Belchin is located the recently restored Tsari Mali Grad Fortress. The valley is a starting point for tourism in Rila and

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 ...

. The oldest winter resort in Bulgaria and the largest one in the mountain range,

Borovets Borovets ( , known as Chamkoria ( ) until the middle of the 20th century) is a mountain resort in Samokov Municipality in Sofia Province in Bulgaria. Geography Borovets is situated on the northern slopes of Rila mountain, at an elevation of ...

, is situated 9 km south of Samokov.

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samokov Valley Valleys of Bulgaria Landforms of Sofia Province