Devetashka cave, Limestone cave near Devetaki, Bulgaria
Devetashka is a large limestone cave located near the village of Devetaki with a passage system extending approximately 2,400 meters. The main entrance spans about 35 meters wide and 30 meters high, creating sufficient space to explore multiple chambers and side passages.
The cave shows evidence of human use beginning roughly 70,000 years ago, with continuous occupation spanning from the Middle Paleolithic through the Neolithic period. Artifacts discovered at the site reveal how people adapted to living in this space across thousands of years.
The name Devetashka comes from the nearby village of Devetaki, not from a word for "nine". The cave lies on the east bank of the Osam, about 2 km from the village. Excavations in the 1950s uncovered one of Bulgaria's richest collections of Neolithic artifacts, now held by the Regional Historical Museum in Lovech and displayed at the Vasil and Atanas Atanasovi Museum Collection.
Access is via Road 301, a 400 m dirt road and a concrete bridge, or on foot from Devetaki along a narrow riverside path; the trail is difficult in wet weather. An alternative, gentler route leads to a parking area about 50 m from the cave. There is no visitor infrastructure and no guided tours. The cave is closed entirely from early June to the end of July for the mammal breeding season.
The large openings in the ceiling are not natural: they were cut during the 1950s, when the cave was used to store petroleum and large tanks stood near the entrance. The tanks were removed by 2015, but only part of their concrete bases remain. In 2011 the cave served as a set for The Expendables 2, and the production built a bridge over the Osam that was left to local residents.
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