Belmeken Dam, Hydroelectric dam in Rila Mountains, Bulgaria

Belmeken Dam sits at 1,923 meters elevation in the Rila Mountains and creates a water body ringed by steep banks and mountain slopes. The structure holds water in a confined valley surrounded by evergreen forests and bare rocky ridges.

Belmeken Dam was built between 1964 and 1974 on the upper Kriva reka in the Rila mountains. Suffosion in the dam wall led to a lowering of the water level in 1986, and in 1989 the reservoir was fully drained for repairs and for construction of a derivation for the Chaira pumped-storage plant. Normal operation resumed in 1991.

The reservoir takes its name from Belmeken Peak (2,626 m), which rises about a kilometre to the northwest. Its shoreline largely follows the boundary of Rila National Park, though the water itself lies outside the protected area. Hikers reach the dam from Sestrimo to the northeast or from Yundola to the south.

Hikers reach the reservoir on foot from Sestrimo to the northeast or from the Yundola area to the south; the dam itself lies at 1,923 m on the upper Kriva reka. The Belmeken High Mountain Sports Complex stands a few hundred metres southwest of the counter dam at 2,050 m. The reservoir sits just outside the boundary of Rila National Park, which follows most of its shoreline.

The reservoir is fed by 162 km of gravity derivation channels, 51 km of them underground, drawing water from the Maritsa (45%), Mesta (32%) and Struma (23%) basins across 219 km². Its stored energy volume is 480 GWh.