Smradlivo Lake

Smradlivo Lake is a glacial lake in the central part of the Rila mountains, the second of the Smradlivi Lakes, and the largest glacial lake in Bulgaria. It is oval, set in a hanging cirque that faces the valley of the Rilska River, between the peaks Rilets and Kyoravitsa, within Rila Monastery Nature Park. Its outflow at the northern end forms a stream that joins the Rilska River, and a small dyke on the northern shore raises the level and regulates the water for the Rilska cascade. The water has low hardness and a high oxygen content, and the lake holds brown trout; because of its remoteness, brown bears, chamois and red deer roam the forests around it. The Bulgarian name means "the stinking lake", after a legend of a storm so violent that it threw the fish onto the shore, where they rotted. Many other legends link the lake with the life of Saint John of Rila.