Bulgaria · Rhodopes

Ivaylovgrad Reservoir

Directions

язовир Ивайловград

The Ivaylovgrad reservoir is a long, narrow lake of about 15 km² on the lower Arda in the Eastern Rhodopes, 30 km long and up to 1.3 km wide. Its dam stands north of the town of Ivaylovgrad, a few kilometres upstream of the Greek border, and dense deciduous forest covers much of its 64 km of shore.

How it formed

Built in 1959–1964 and over 70 m high, the concrete dam is the third and last step of the Arda cascade, with the power plant built into the wall. An earlier plan for a much larger lake was dropped because it would have flooded the mine at Madzharovo. Four villages were submerged all the same.

Nature

The area is an Important Bird Area with 163 species recorded, among them breeding white-tailed eagles, booted eagles and ospreys. At the shallow western end near Borislavtsi, garganey, stilts and avocets stop on migration from March to May and July to October, and mute swans, shelducks and goosanders come in winter.

Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

Road III-597 crosses the top of the dam. For birds, go to Borislavtsi, where you can park by a quiet road and walk an easy, mostly flat circuit in about an hour and a half; spring is the best time, and a telescope helps. The village has a café, but there are only one or two buses a day.

Anglers come for catfish, carp, pike-perch, chub, roach and bleak. In June the lake hosts the final of the national canoe and kayak regatta.