Shiroka Laka
Широка лъка
The most beautiful protected village of National Revival architecture in the Rhodopes, known for its old houses with stone-slab roofs, arched stone bridges and folk music school.
Shiroka Laka is a protected village of Bulgarian architecture and folk traditions, set on both banks of the Shiroka Laka River. It preserves many 19th-century Rhodope-style houses from the National Revival period, with white walls, dark wooden bay windows and grey stone-slab roofs stacked tier upon tier. Several old single-arch stone bridges span the river. The village is famous for its National School of Folk Music, which trains players of the Rhodope bagpipe (gaida) and folk singers, and the Church of the Assumption contains fine icons. The liveliest time to visit is around the first Sunday of March, during the Pesponedelnik Kukeri Festival, when masked kukeri performers take over the village. It is about one hour's drive from Trigrad and is often combined with Pamporovo and Smolyan on the same route.
Opening hours
Open all day (House Museum approx. 09:00–17:00)
Nearby sights
- Smolyan Lakes
- Pamporovo
- Smolyan Planetarium
- Uhlovitsa Cave
- Devin
- Agushevi Konatsi
- Trigrad Gorge
- Devil's Throat Cave