The famous Trigrad gorge is situated in the Western Rhodopes Mountain in Bulgaria, near to the Greek border. It is an area of true and outstanding nature - deep gorges, century old spruce forests and wild mountain meadows.

The whole area offers fine and excellent birding, especially in the summer. Here you will not find large numbers of bird species, due to the mountain terrain and the pine woods. You are instead likely to find a few local specialties however, and what birds are they!
Foremost amongst them is the beautiful and enigmatic Wallcreeper. In fact Trigrad Gorge is the best place in Europe where you can find and see really well these elusive birds. From April till September, if you spend a couple of hours in the gorge you are almost guaranteed excellent views of the Wallcreepers, very often from distance of 10 – 20 meters and sometimes even nearer. Every second year one of the pairs breed just above the road, some 12 meters above you. Here you will enjoy the wonderful display flight of the male as well as his gentle whistling calls. You can observe 2 to 3 pairs in the gorge and their natural behavior – preening, feeding and flying around. You can also see the Wallcreepers in the winter as they are resident, but you will normally need to make sure you have enough time for them.
Other birds you can find in the area are specialties like Rock Partridge, Hazel Grouse, Cappercaillie and Pigmy Owl. For each of them you will need to secure more time or take a guide. Other birds in the gorge and the area which are much easier to find are Black and Grey –headed woodpeckers, Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Black Redstart, Red-rumped Swallow, Alpine Swift , Crag Martin, Crested Tit, Serin, Bulfinch, Lesser Whitethroat  as well as both Firecrest and Goldcrest. Raptors in the area are represented by Goshawk, Honey Buzzard, Short-toed and Golden eagles, Peregrine and Common Buzzard.

Beside the birds, in the area you can also find mammals – such as Brown bears for which there are several specially established hides to observe them, Wild Cat, Badger, Chamois and Wild Boar. The area is also one of the prime butterflies’ areas in Bulgaria – with species like Apollo, Poplar Admiral, Camberwell Beauty, Balkan and Scarce coppers and many more. Dragonflies are also well presented here.
All said you are guaranteed excellent time in the area if you are interested in birdwatching and nature. At Arkan Han we will help you with some precise, up to date, information where exactly to see the Wallcreepers and most of the other specialties, while for the hard to find ones we can arrange a guide for you.
We also have to offer a wide range and of other nature activities such as horseback riding, walking and trekking, visiting caves in the area etc.
Thus, if you are coming with a family or friends which are not as much as you in the birding world you can be sure they will have plenty of options what to do, while you are away in search of birds.
Shortly said Arkan Han and Trigrad gorge is a perfect location for relaxing week holiday in pristine nature where you will find some of the most elusive birds in Europe.