Orlovi Skali, Megalith sanctuary in Ardino, Bulgaria.

Orlovi Skali is a rock-cut sanctuary about 2 km from Ardino and 30 km southwest of Kardzhali, on a west-facing slope at roughly 760 m elevation. Its gneiss cliffs rise up to 25 m above the surrounding ground and hold 97 surviving trapezoidal niches: 55 on the west side, 35 on the south, 5 on the north and 5–6 ruined or unfinished on the east. Below the cliffs are traces of channels and rock-cut altars.

The site entered scholarly record in the 1940s through publications by Ivan Velkov. Pottery fragments found near the niches date to the 5th–4th century BCE, with burning traces inside suggesting oil used in rituals. A Thracian fortress known as Kaleto, a 67 m irregular circle built without mortar, stands nearby and was declared a protected site in 1979; Orlovi Skali became a natural landmark in 2003.

The name Orlovi Skali means Eagle Rocks, though the Turkish name Kartal Kaya refers to the black vulture. Archaeologists link the trapezoid niches to Thracian funerary rites: Ana Raduncheva saw their shape as a bat, a guide of souls to the underworld. The niches are always found empty, and their grouping may reflect separate clans.

The site is reachable on foot from the center of Ardino, through a forested path that leads directly to the rock face. Sturdy shoes are a good idea, as the ground is uneven and can become slippery after rain.

The trapezoid niches were cut into Precambrian gneiss, a metamorphic rock, on a west-facing slope at about 760 m. Of the original 100, 97 survive: 55 on the west side, 35 on the south, 5 on the north and 5–6 ruined or unfinished on the east. Their placement follows no pattern.