Stob Pyramids

The Stob Pyramids are among Bulgaria's most visited natural landmarks and are included in the country's Red Data Book as a critically endangered natural habitat. These pyramids stand in the western Rila Mountains, above the village of Stob, and form a complex composition of pointed and needle-like shapes, predominantly pyramidal or conical, rising from the ground. Many are topped with mushroom-like 'stone caps' measuring between 0.8 and 1.0 metres. They have been carved into thick layers of Early Quaternary fluvioglacial deposits and range in height from 6 to 12 metres. Their varied forms include groups of connected pyramids creating picturesque ensembles.
The rocks, bare of vegetation or showing only its initial stages of growth, give the pyramids their distinctive appearance. Heat-loving and drought-tolerant plants occur in the area, including sessile oak, oriental hornbeam, manna ash, almond-leaved pear, oleaster-leaved pear, wild service tree, field elm and others. Common species such as cornelian cherry, common hazel, common hawthorn, Russian olive and others also grow in this unique natural paradise.
According to local legends, the remarkable pyramids resulted from a curse placed on a wedding procession. In one legend, the bride's mother plants a cross in the plain and curses her daughter, declaring that all wedding guests who kiss their father-in-law will turn to stone. When the wedding procession arrives, everyone turns into rock pyramids. Another legend tells of an event in which a beautiful bride leads the wedding party towards the pyramids, where the careless best man kisses the bride and everyone turns to stone.