This imposing natural barrier separates Bulgaria from Greece. In this legendary landscape where Turkish occupation has left its mark (minarets, mosques), strung-out villages adhere to their traditional activities. To the west, the village of Siroka Laka is renowned for carpetmaking and worth visiting. From Smoljan, with its excellent history museum (one of Bulgaria’s finest), a pleasant excursion may be made to the Trigradska gorge, its imposing marble cliffs reaching 350m in height.