The main reason I returned to Bulgaria was to visit the Buzludzha Monument which was built by the Bulgarian communist regime and has now been abandoned for many years. My friend Yana told me about this epic abandoned structure when I was in Sofia a few months back. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to see it then due to my inter rail pass expiring.
After an afternoon and morning of trying to figure out exactly how exactly the 3 of us were going to get the 90 minutes from our hostel to this epic abandoned communist era monument in the mountains we were put onto a taxi driver who was willing to drive us there and back.
We picked up a bottle of rakia and made our way into the mountains. Once we reached the foot of the monument Michael (who I met through Couchsurfing) and I couldn’t wait to get inside so we hiked up and crawled through small hole leading into the main chamber. Inside the we spent a good hour taking photos and checking out the amazing mosaics. Soon after the three of us made out way underneath the building to find the entrance to the main tower.
We had to navigate our way through some tunnels and stairs but with the aid of torches and headlamps it took about 20 minutes to navigate our way through and the winding ladders to the top of the tower. On the top we cracked open the rakia to celebrate. We polished off a good portion of the Rakia over the next hour, and made our way back down the tower to explore more of the underground area underneath the main chamber. We came across a strange shrine and signed an old damp visitor book which may or may not be dedicated to some other explorers who were rumoured to have been killed by a falling beam inside the monument years before.
After taking some more photos we decided it was time to head back to the taxi, but just as we were about make out way out a thick blanket of fog hit the monument and started streaming in through the broken windows and over the walls. At fist we were a little confused and thought it was dust, but the chill that came with it confirmed that it was a storm on its way.
At this point we hastily made our way outside, and back down to the taxi. What had seemed like about 90 minutes inside the monument was actually almost 4 hours of exploring, climbing, drinking rakia and taking photos. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far. I had an absolute blast and took way too many photos once again. Everyone who we have met and has made the trip to see the monument has no idea why no one has tried to cash in on this epic piece of architecture nestled in the amazing Bulgarian mountainside…
From top to bottom, from inside and out, from the mosaics to the giant red star, this place is epic and well worth the effort to see. If you are in Bulgaria do it before its too late.
