Popovo Lake

Popovo Lake is one of the loveliest spots in the Pirin Mountains. It is the largest (12.4 hectares), the deepest (29.5 m) and the widest (336 m) Pirin lake. The escarpments of five peaks – Sivria, Jano, Kralev dvor, Momin dvor and Jengal – tower around above it. The lake is an hour and a half away from the chalet Bezbog. In shape Popovo Lake resembles an irregular pentagon, with a small round islet, called the Kamelaukion, standing in the middle of it. The legend tells that once upon a time, a beautiful lass, called Kalina, the only daughter of a priest, lived in a small hamlet in the Pirin Mountains. One day Murat bey passed nearby and, succumbed to the girl’s beauty, wanted to take her to his harem. Desperate and woeful, Kalina ran away and the Momin dvor peak as if engulfed her. Stricken with grief, the priest threw himself in the cold waters of the nearby lake. Only his kamelaukion (priest’s cap) emerged and turned into an islet. Since then the lake has been called Popovo (Priest’s).