Buzludja – UFO from the past, forgotten in the mountain (Concrete monument in Bulgaria)

Hello guys, here is my first travel post in the blog! Yeah! If you check out my social media profiles you’ll notice that I’m sharing my travel experiences a lot and it is time to share it here too.
The first one will be about Buzludja. Huge concrete monument located in Bulgaria, but read the post and you will know more about it. I hope yoi’ll like it!

Do you know what is Buzludja?

Maybe you’ve heard about this communist monument in Bulgaria? I want to tell you more about this interesting building that looks like a giant UFO and my trip to visit it. I’m not a fan of communism or any other political movement but I like this raw brutalist architecture. A lot of exposed concrete, interesting forms that makes you wander how they made it and all of that in a massive building in the middle of nowhere. Actually based on Wikipedia this monument is placed in the geographical centre of Bulgaria. In my opinion this is a huge UFO from the past, forgotten in the mountain.

Buzludja is placed in the geographical center of Bulgaria. (Tweet it!)

Buzludja - UFO from the past, forgotten in the mountain

My trip to Buzludja

I’m not sure from where I’ve heard about Buzludja but I wanted to visit it a long time ago. I have this strange affinity about old and abandoned buildings and the images from this monument fascinated me. There are a lot in this building which can amaze you. From the huge size, through the star at the top and the exposed concrete up to the placement on the top of the mountain.

My trip to Buzludja started as a date with my girlfriend (read this post – How to impress her – 3 tips from girls and especially the first tip about finding a new interesting experience for her). The first part was to jump with a bungee at Klisura and for the afternoon we wanted to go to some interesting place. After the adrenaline rush from the jump we decided to visit the peak of Buzludja (the new name of the peak is Hadji Dimitar). It isn’t close to the bridge we’ve jumped from but the weather was perfect for some of the beauties of Bulgaria.

Oh, I forgot to mention that it was our first date with Joanna (Healthy Inspirations by Joanna).

Joanna on Buzludja 2

The road to the peak

From Sofia to Kazanlak we were driving on a nice road with beautiful landscapes on the both sides. We take this road (E871) because of the bungee jump at Klisura but if you are coming from Sofia you can take the highway to Plovdiv and from there the road to Kazanlak. The ramp for the peak is marked with big statue of Dimitar Blagoev and after that your climb is starting but there is no problem to get there with a car. The last part of the road is not in it’s best condition but it is ok.

Buzludja Videw

The first impression

I was amazed by the view I’ve saw when we get there! There are these hills on the both sides of the road and you can’t see anything. After the last turn the view is revealed in front of you – the monument of Buzludja on the left and a huge field with these white windmills which look majestic on the background of the mountain. When we parked there were 2-3 more cars. This interesting place brings tourists throughout the whole year. Some for the mesmerizing view and others for the post apocalyptic feeling of the concrete UFO. There are two statues in front of the building but time has not forgiven them. They are half-destroyed and it is not clear what they were.

Buzludja

Buzludja and its magnificent presence

When I walked around I’ve felt these strange emotions. The combination of the huge building, mountain, view and the post-soviet slogans with missing letters brings me chaos in my head.
I like the big field in front of Buzludja where you can walk and see it from different angles. My favorite place around is the peak next to the monument. It is behind it when your are coming from the road. The view from there is better because the background with the windmills and the angle from which you are looking is not the ordinary one that you can see in the photos from internet. The worst part from the trip for me was that now no one can go inside. Local authorities have taken care to block all the entrances and holes through which people have slipped inside. They are right about that because the roof of the building is not stable and wooden pieces can fall on your head any second. Besides that I liked my trip to this amazing place and I will go there again in the future.

Buzludja - UFO from the past, forgotten in the mountain

What to visit around Buzludja

The closest interesting place to visit is Ѕhірka peak where the National Monument of Freedom was built. In clear day you can see it from the backside of Buzludja. It is only 14 km from there. The nearest cities are Kazanlak and Gabrovo. Both of them are interesting and full of cool places to visit like the museum of humor and satire in Gabrovo and the architectural-ethnographic complex Etar near it. In Kazanlak you can visit the Rose museum and Thracian Tomb which has been on the UNESCO protected list since 1979.

Buzludja View 2

Do I really need to visit Buzludja?

Yes, you have to! It is definitely one of the most controversial places in the world but it is interesting and beautiful. You will be outside and will feel the fresh mountain’s air full of history. I will go there again very soon to capture the beauty and concrete on video.

Buzludja View 3

This post is a part of my new category – Travel. I will write about my travels around Bulgaria and the world. You can follow my blog to be up to date with my trips where I will share with you interesting places, info about getting there and some tips and tricks for your best travel experience. If you have some questions about my posts feel free to write me a comment in the section below or you can reach me on my email. My social media accounts are available too – Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook.

Also this is my first longer post. Tell me what do you thing about tis new format and length in the comments.

Buzludja 3

P.S. Joanna loved our date with the bungee jump and the monument of Buzludja. Check out her blog too.

Do you like travel videos – check out my YouTube channel to view some of my latest.

Buzludja