1. Nisovo village - The Venerable elm-tree – 40 minutes
 The route starts at the bridge of Beli
Lom river near the monument of the War Memorial and the winery near the mill. It goes out
of the village to the east . On a concrete bridge it crosses the river and goes to the
right along an off-road. From this place starts a path which goes to the hill and by the
Old Christian cemetery and goes down to the other side of the road. Then it goes down to
the fish farm. The route continues under a dike, crosses the cliff and after the second
fish farm it comes to a vineyard. It passes through it, and turns left ending at a rock
platform on the river. There you can see the view of the river Beli Lom canyon. The path
goes down to the north-east, to the river and goes to the century-old elm-tree.
There is a place for relaxation there. There are signs at the path, keep attention not to
miss them. The century-old elm-tree is 18m tall, girt -5.54m and is older than 600 years. |
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2. Nisovo village – The crossed cliff - 1 hour
The route goes out from Nisovo village in Popovo town direction. After River Mali Lom the route continues to the right through the
village economic yard. 200m from the bridge is the place where Mali Lom flows into Beli Lom river. The path continues on the left
bank of the river and after 40 min it reaches high rocks in left. Gradually the cliff wreath goes low. Soon after that we can see a
crack in the cliff, formed by ancient people. The path runs through this crack and goes down to the river. Further movement along
the river is not possible. |
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3. Nisovo village- Svalenik village - 4 hours
There is a bus from Ruse to Nisovo –twice a day, morning and evening. The route begins before the bridge of River Mali Lom ,
which is on the way to Popovo. Departs on a path in the left downstream of the river . After 15 minutes it comes to the
beginning of the path – a route for getting acquainted with the local tree species and bushes. There is an information plate.
The path includes two loops, each with length 1500 meters long, and it could be eluded for about an hour. It continues across
the meadow. There is a place for relaxation near the river. After 20 minutes to the you can see the entrance to the Arnautovata
cave and on the other side – Karovata Cave. The path follows the river. There are many fallen trees along the river bank, called
by the locals “minushki”, because the river could be crossed with them. To the left we can see high cliffs with ancient monk cells.
After 40 minutes we can see the Big Nisovo monastery “St.St. Konstantin and Elena” – the biggest rock monastery in the area of
Lom river. There is a place for relaxation on the meadow, in front of the cliffs. After the rock monastery the path is quite
grassy, but the movement is not difficult. The river forms beautiful meanders, on some places with venerable vegetation of beech,
oak, ash tree, cornel tree and elm tree. After 30 minutes down the route, to the left, in the area “Sandacite”, we can see a big
nest in the cliff. After 45 minutes we come to a pumping station and an old water-mill. Half an hour later we can see the unique
nature phenomenon - The huge white wall. The road was covered with broken stone, there is a movement of people, cars and household
animals. It continues by a fish farm, near a big fountain for livestock. 45 minutes later the route reaches the western edge of
Svalenik village. |
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4. Cherven village – Tabachka village – 2 hours
The route from Cherven to Tabachka village passes high above the rocks on the left bank of the river Cherni Lom. It is impossible to
pass across the river, the path is not used by the local population and have already been deleted. The path must pass along the
landfill at the end of the village in the direction of Ivanovo village. In the south western direction along it departs a path, it
comes out of the village and passes through the meadows. Path crosses consistently two gullies. Down to the left under the road there
is an abandoned orchard and the river flows under it. After the second gully the road separates in two. The first path is going down
to the river and the site Chiflik Bei . The other path continues to Tabachka village. Gradually the path narrows. We can see an
impressive view to the left. The rock mass over which we pass is extremely high. There are two caves under the path –Vodna and Temna,
but we can see them when we go south. Now we can see Tabachka village. To reach it we have to cross the meadow and we can see the path.
When we go left we can see the whole solid cliff. We can continue to the river, we must come back and find the path for the village.
We must cross the neighborhood Krusheto, then walk on asphalted road and enter into Tabacka village. |
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5. Koshov village – Cherven village – 2 hours
The route starts from the bus station in Koshov village and goes east, 10 min after that it goes out of the village. The route crosses the
bridge of Cherni Lom river and continues on the right bank against the river stream. We can see huge cliffs above the route. Soon we
reach a modern pig-farm and after that the path goes down to the river. The path crosses the meadows. The path goes near the Malak Rai
cliff monastery at the right side and Koshuta monastery after that. The defile is very picturesque. The rocks are mixed on both sides
of the river. At left we can see the ruins of Goliam Rai monastery. After 15 min the path crosses a wood bridge, the place is called The
Settlement. Here the river has formed an island. The path crosses the island and a bridge and reaches a water-mill. It has turned into a
base for boats based in the project "With the canoe to the wild of the RP" Rusenski Lom "made by the municipality of Ivanovo.There is an
option to float with triple canoe in Cherni Lom river. We can see the Station for watching birds, which is above the fish farm of Koshov
village. In this area we can see the rare kind of birds like Black stork, Egyptian rock Eagle and others. The path continues to Gramovetz
site, located before Ivanovo rock churches with an opportunity to climb an extreme eco-path to one of the monasteries. Close is the site
Smestsite where Black and White Lom are joining. The way for Cherven continues to the base and passes on a new iron bridge. The way goes
round the medieval city of Cherven and comes to a parking. There is a fast food outlet, which is also offering souvenirs, postcards,
brochures. 300 meters after the bridge, to the left, an off-road path separates and goes up to the hill leading to the entrance of the
fortress. Passes on the plateau and ladders to go down to the parking. We need 15 min from the fortress to reach the center of Cherven
village. A bus from Ruse travels three times a day to Cherven village. |
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6. Ivanovski rock churches – Koshov village – 2 hours 30 minutes
There are several possible options for travelling these route. The first moves down the road on the left bank of Rusenski Lom river,
and the site Smestsite - on the bank of the river Cherni Lom. We depart from the car park below the rock church. The road continues
near the coffee bar, then going up and going down after the turn of the river. We can see the remains of medieval monasteries and
churches on the opposite bank of the river. The path follows the river, it is quite covered with grass. Vertical rocks alternate left
and right. After about an hour we get to the site Smesitsite – the place of a merger of the two rivers Lom. The path separates in two.
The right path goes up to the forest. The same place can be accessed for 45 min of the rock churches, while passing through the woods
above them. Departs from the bench up the path, then goes left along the field while we reach the path for Ivanovo village (30min).
The path goes down to the river (15min). There are difficulties with the passing of the field, since there is no road, the path
disappears in the forest. After the fork to Koshov village there are two paths, but they both follow the River Cherni Lom. After
10 min we reach a seat place with a fireplace, in left we can see a place made for boats. There is an eco-path in the rock, which
leads to rock monastery complex Gramovetz. We can see a lot of unavailable niches and caves in the rocks. After 10 min a path starts
at right and leads to the hill. By following this path we can reach Koshov village in about an hour. We can see a nice view to the
meanders of the River Cherni Lom. If we go straight we`ll see monastery remains after 10 min. The path passes near a destroyed building,
a well, a broken mill and enters into the village. The distance from site Smestsite is a travelling for about an hour and 15 min.
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7. Ivanovski rock churches – Ivanovo village – 2 hours and 30 min.
There is no public transport to Ivanovski rock churches. The route for Ivanovo village starts with steep path against the bench with the
pump. In the beginning of the path there is old red marking left. Inclination gradually reduced after 10 min to reach the fork. Next the
path disappears in the trees. If we continue on it, we must pass on the left and come up over the forest, then we’ll see a big field.
The field can be walked round to come out of the path that leads to Ivanovo village. After the fork we can go left. The path continues
in the forest and comes out on the rocks above the church. You need to pay particular attention. The view is great, but the danger of
falling, especially in wet time, should not be underestimated. To keep walking towards the village we need to come out of the wood and
we`ll see the path along the field. An option to reach Ivanovo village is from the Rock churches through the road to the church of the
old village, then to the gully in left. The path passes along two monuments, nominated in honor of fallen Russian soldiers during the
Russian-Turkish Liberation War. There are pens along the path and we reach the village. There is a tourist information center in the
center of Ivanovo village. You can obtain information about the routes in the area of River Lom, the proposed tourist services and
opportunities for accommodation. To return from the village to the rock churches it is best to move on the asphalted road. This will
avoid wandering in the forest, while finding the path.
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