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The ground above Raychova dupka (Sentinel-2)

Bulgaria Bulgaria Cave

Raychova dupka

377 m deep, 1.5 km of galleries.

Abyss

See the descentHow to visit

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

The descent

377 metres down, to scale.

The real relief above Raychova dupka, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

−377 mEntrance1,582 m1.0 kmvertical × 5.3−377 mEntrance1,582 m1.0 kmvertical × 11.5

Eiffel Tower (330 m) would fit upside down 1.1 times.

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey.

377m

Depth

published (Wikidata)

1.5km

Galleries

surveyed length (Wikidata)

1,400m

Entrance altitude

published (Wikidata)

5°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

218m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

5 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 5 °C here, in January and in August. In August the afternoon reaches 23 °C at the entrance, 18 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The wettest months are from May to July: water rises fast underground, so never go in without a guide after heavy rain.

outside, at the entrance (1,400 m)inside
  1. -3°-11°Jan
  2. 0°-10°Feb
  3. 5°-6°Mar
  4. 10°-1°Apr
  5. 16°4°May
  6. 20°8°Jun
  7. 23°10°Jul
  8. 23°10°Aug
  9. 18°6°Sep
  10. 12°0°Oct
  11. 5°-4°Nov
  12. -1°-9°Dec
Inside: 5 °C all yearFrost outside: Nov–MarWettest: May–Jul

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Cave in Bulgaria

Raychova dupka is a cave in Bulgaria. It goes down 377 m below the entrance and has 1.5 km of surveyed galleries. The entrance is at 1,400 m. It lies within Steneto Biosphere Reserve.

Getting there.

  • Wild cave: only with caving equipmentNo paths or lights inside. Go only with a caving club or a qualified guide.
  • Troyannearest town · 14 km in a straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.2 km from the entrance
  • Plovdiv International Airport (PDV)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 79 km in a straight lineCar hire at PDV airport (Plovdiv)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Raychova dupka (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 2other cave entrances within 3 kmРайчова дупка, Куманица
  • 6springs within 2 kmЖеравица and 5 more
  • 2viewpoints within 3 km
  • 5marked hiking routes within 3 kmПешеходен маршрут Ком - Емине (част от Е3), СтаРа 100х24, с. Черни Осъм - х. Чучул and 2 more
  • 5named waterfalls within 4 kmКастрак дере (долен), Червената скала (горен), Кастрак дере (горен) and 2 more
  • 1campsites within 8 kmОрейте
  • 23hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmКИП Нешковци, х.Амбарица, х. Орлово гнездо and 20 more
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • car parks within 2 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Troyan14 km in a straight line
  • Karlovo18 km in a straight line
  • Klisura21 km in a straight line
  • Apriltsi21 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Raychova dupka.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Peakyas3 mountains within 10 km
Kenda Balkan1,307 m · 5.9 kmDobrila1,902 m · 9.0 kmLevski Peak2,166 m · 9.6 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon-305101620232318125-1
Afternoon-305101620232318125-1
Night-11-10-6-148101060-4-9
Rain (mm)444251528990815457563646
Rainy days991111151411888710
Sun hours/day2.84.05.27.08.39.410.09.47.15.02.82.4
Snow on the ground (cm)161492000001514
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan-3-3-11442.8
Feb00-10424.0
Mar55-6515.2
Apr1010-1527.0
May16164898.3
Jun20208909.4
Jul2323108110.0
Aug232310549.4
Sep18186577.1
Oct12120565.0
Nov55-4362.8
Dec-1-1-9462.4

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (1,400 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202031%170%147%52%98%85%103%106%38%155%66%109%
2021221%52%175%130%80%92%37%70%43%176%90%232%
202264%96%43%138%39%92%69%114%111%21%129%75%
2023157%68%59%151%124%136%46%55%63%8%312%80%
202482%38%86%95%111%52%47%32%80%36%117%230%
202515%33%73%110%117%21%30%48%23%280%211%109%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Raychova dupka

Bulgaria

  • 377 mDepth
  • 1.5 kmGalleries
  • 1,400 mEntrance altitude
  • 5 °CInside, all year

Saeva dupka cave

Bulgaria · 51 km

  • 40 mDepth
  • 0.2 kmGalleries
  • 520 mEntrance altitude
  • 11 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Devetashka cave

Bulgaria · 54 km

  • 96 mDepth
  • 2.4 kmGalleries
  • 126 mEntrance altitude
  • 13 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Bacho Kiro cave

Bulgaria · 64 km

  • —Depth
  • 3.6 kmGalleries
  • 504 mEntrance altitude
  • 11 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q12292106) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit