Gyurgena protected site

The Gyurgena protected site has an area of 72.40 ha and was established with Order No:649 of 23.11.2000 by the Ministry of the Environment and Water, on the suggestion of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and the Group for the Research and Protection of Bats. It is located in the land of the village of Gaberovo, the Madzharovo Municipality. It has volcanic rock complexes with caves and Thracian niches, oak woods, rare and protected species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Here one can watch the Spanish wheatear, the red-backed shrike, the black-headed bunting as well as the black stork and the Egyptian vulture, both included in Bulgaria’s Red Book. In the region we can find the spur-thighed tortoise and Hermann's tortoise, both threatened with extinction on a worldwide scale.

The protected site is of great significance for the preservation of bats. The caves provide shelter for three species threatened with extinction on a worldwide scale - the greater horseshoe bat, the Mediterranean horseshoe bat, and Geoffroy's bat. The Geoffroy's bat colony numbers some 7000 individuals and is the biggest in Bulgaria. Of the protected plants, the butterfly orchid and the Rhodope toothwort can be found.