Belogradchik Fortress and the Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria

Across nearly 20 square miles of the western slopes of the Balkan Mountains in northwestern Bulgaria, looms a series of natural sandstone towers. Many of the individual Belogradchik rocks are named, with local folklore providing numerous fanciful stories about the formations. This particular view provides a glimpse of the three-walled Belogradchik Fortress, built by the Romans sometime between the first and third centuries CE. It’s been updated several times since then, and was even used as a defense stronghold as late as 1885, during the war between Bulgaria and Serbia.