Gyumyurdzhinski Snezhnik protected site

The Gyumyurdzhinski Snezhnik protected site has an area of 1926.40 ha. It was established with Order No:RD-153 of 21.02.2003 by the Ministry of the Environment and Water, on the suggestion of the Bulgarian-Swiss Program for the Protection of Biodiversity, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection  of Birds, and the University of Forestry, with the aim of preserving centuries-old woods and the habitats of endangered species. It encompasses part of the Gyumyurdzhinski Snezhnik hill and the Veykata Peak. It is in the territory of the Kirkovo Municipality, in the land of the villages of Dolno Kapinovo, Gorno Kapinovo, Chakalarovo, Kremen, and Shumnatitsa. The protected site contains beech, beech-fir, and sycamore woods older than 100 years old. Individual trees are older than 300-400 years old. Here 11 plant species are to be found, included in Bulgaria’s Red Book. Among them are the yew, holly, and the Cossack juniper. This is the only place in the Eastern Rhodopes where the endangered Rhodope lily (Lilium rhodopaeum)  can be found. Of the birds and animals included in Bulgaria’s Red Book, here we can see the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Eurasian Sparrowhawk  (Accipiter nisus) European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), the black (Dryocopus martius) and white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), and the brown bear (Ursus arctos)