And the winner is...

The winners of NTG’s third edition of the contest “Eastern Rhodopes - taste the wild nature” are:

Anahid Chalyovska,

Vasil Anastasovski ,

Olya Stoyanova

Herman van der Hart.

Travel story competition

In the section for the most interesting travel story, Anahid Chalyovska won the first prize for her story “Stolen Moments”. The prize is a weekend for two at the Nature Conservation Centre “Eastern Rhodopes”. Anahid is a translator by profession. Her husband is interested in photography and she accompanied him to the photo workshop this summer in the Eastern Rhodopes organized by Photosynthesis and NTG. The beauty of the area has inspired her to participate for the first time in her life in a competition for travel stories. “The Rhodopes are the most beautiful mountain in Bulgaria and all Bulgarians should visit them”, said Anahid. The photos in Anahid's  travel story are taken by Milen Chalyovski, her husband.

The second and the third awards in the competition for the most interesting travel story are for Olya Stoyanova for her stories “About the Lisitsite, the black storks and the stones that are standing on their own” and “Duzhdovnitsa, Snezhinka and other seasons in the Rhodope Mountains”. Olya is a journalist and writer of books, one of her most famous is “The Guide to the Wild Places” (co-authored by her husband Zivko Dzhakov). The team of NTG hopes that the winning travel stories of Olya will find a place in her new book.

Photo competition

The winner in the photo section is Vasil Anastasovski with his photo “Ustra”. The prize is a weekend for two in the Wild Farm in the village of Gorno pole. Vasil is from Kardzhali. His profession  is an IT specialist and photography is his great hobby. “I adore the nature”, says Vasil. In 2011 he already was the first prize winner in the photo contest of bTV “I, The Reporter”. That same year he also wonthe Award of the Audience in the Online photo contest “Bulgaria -  an attractive tourist destination”. The second place went to Herman van der Hart (Netherlands) for his picture of the Little Bittern. This is the first foreign participation in NTG contest. The third prize goes once more to Vasil Anastasovski for his photo “The Devil’s Bridge”.

Congratulations to the winners!

The first prizes were provided by the Nature Conservation Centre and the “Wild Farm”. Here's more about them:

(1) Nature Conservation Center “Eastern Rhodopes” is located in the heart of one of the last vulture strongholds in Bulgaria - Madzharovo in the Eastern Rhodopes. This is where the globally threatened Griffon vultures and Egyptian vultures are still preserved. The interactive exhibition and the animators of the center will inform you about the secrets of vultures and the biodiversity in the region. Around the center you can enjoy the magnificence of flying vultures overhead in the gorgious landscape. Monitoring of vultures at some of the feeding sites, specialized wildlife safaris, culture and history tours in the area, photographing vultures and other birds of prey from the special shelters, are just some of the other experiences that you can enjoy. Additional services such as bikingon the quiet roads or kayaking along the river will help you discoveringthe countryside and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The center also offers rooms for overnight service and a tavern for food and drinks.

(2) “Wild Farm” offers splendid bed&breakfast and is an organic farm specialized in live stock breeding. The farm has certificates for organic beef, honey and vegetables from their garden, and pastures where the animals graze. Besides delicious organic and local food Vasilievi family offer their guests numerous entertainment - horse riding, boating, picnics in the woods, searching precious mineral stones, searching for honey from wild bees, catching wild cow with a lasso, vulture watching, etc.

Vasil Anastasovski - Ustra

Vasil Anastasovski - The Devil's Bridge

Herman van der Hart - The Little Bittern