Visiting the town of Smolyan a week ago, we started a tour of the mountains that lie very deep in the heart and soul of every Bulgarian - the Rhodopes. Now we will take a look at the eastern part of the great mountain range.

The Eastern Rhodopes are a low hilly mountain range, of which the highest peak is Veikata at 1463m. The diversity of habitats - oak forests, Mediterranean bushes, rock massifs and beech forests in the higher parts - demonstrate the presence of extremely high biodiversity.

1335 species of plants can be found here, of which 22 are endemic to Bulgaria and 37 are Balkan endemics. In Bulgaria this is the only place where one can see some of the rarest European trees. The fauna here consists of 273 bird species, 59 mammal species and 36 reptile and amphibian species.

The Eastern Rhodopes have a unique diversity of birds of prey. The mountains are inhabited by 36 raptors, including the extremely rare Imperial eagle, the Black vulture, and the Griffon and Egyptian vultures. The Eastern Rhodopes are the only Bulgarian habitat of the Black and Griffon vultures.

Here can be found many Southern species that are not common throughout Bulgaria. These include the Masked Shrike, the Orphean Warble, the Rock Nuthatch, the Black-Headed Bunting, and others.

Among the mammal species are wolves, otters, and marbled polecats. The density of the wolf population in the region is one of the highest in Bulgaria.

Humans have also inhabited these mountain lands for millennia. The Eastern Rhodope region has been inhabited since the Prehistoric period. Monuments exist representing early Prehistoric times until the late Middle Ages.

The mound of settlements close to the village of Malki Voden was once a significant economic and cultural centre during the Eneolithic period. The Thracians inhabited this region during the first millennium BCE and many ruins of their settlements and sanctuaries can be found here.

Hundreds of rock-cut niches from the Early Iron Age (tenth to sixth century BCE) can be seen in the high cliffs, close to sanctuaries in caves. Although numerous hypotheses exist following archaeological investigations, their purpose is still a mystery.

The rock-cut tombs and dolmens, together with the tumulus describe the burial rituals of the Thracians in the Eastern Rhodopes. The two best-preserved dolmens are here with interesting architectural plans and are close to the villages of Pelevun and Zhelezino in the Ivailovgrad region.

In 1998, close to the village of Dolni Glavanak, a Thracian sanctuary dated between the eighth and seventh century BCE was found. The sanctuary has the form of a megalithic cromlech - the same type as Stonehenge in England. The sanctuary is the only one of this type in Bulgaria and is unique due to its early date.

Two tombs, under tumuli, dated in the third century BCE, built with perfectly cut stone blocks with unique architectural plans are close to the town of Madjarovo and another with unique paintings is near the village of Dolno Lukovo. A copy of one of the Madjarovo tombs can be seen in the Kurdjali Museum.