Urdini Lakes

The Urdini Lakes are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. They are not as popular with the tourists as the Seven Rila Lakes further west, because they are situated in the most difficultly accessible areas of the mountain range. The Urdini lakes are located in the western section of the homonymous cirque between the summits of Damga (2,669 m) to the northwest and Dodov peak (2,661 m) to the south. They consist of six lakes: Suhoto (Bulgarian for Dry), Ribnoto (Fish), Triagalnoto (Triangle), Botanicheskoto (Botanical), Golyamata Panitsa and Malkata Panitsa. The lakes are drained by the river Urdina, a right tributary of the Cherni Iskar, which is considered the main stem of Bulgaria's longest river that runs entirely within the country, the Iskar. The individual lakes have a relatively small size, between 0.8 and 2.5 hectares. At smallest one is Ribnoto Lake (at an altitude of 2,348 m), which due to its proximity to the summit of Damga, at about 500 m to the southeast of the peak, is also called Damgsko Lake. Although this lake is the smallest in size, it has the largest catchment area in the group.