Aladzha Monastery

Aladzha Monastery tickets: which one to buy

Aladzha Monastery is a medieval rock monastery carved into a limestone cliff in the Golden Sands Nature Park, about seventeen kilometres north of Varna, on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, and a small admission fee is charged. It is one of the most interesting historical sites on the Bulgarian coast and easy to visit from the resorts of Golden Sands and Saints Constantine and Helena.

Tours from Varna and the resorts often combine Aladzha with the Balchik Palace and botanical garden, the Cape Kaliakra, or the Stone Forest. The monastery is reached by car or taxi, and a walking path leads through the forest from Golden Sands. The site has a small museum at the entrance, and the climb up the metal stairs to the upper levels of the cliff is steep. The surrounding forest is cool and shady in summer. A combined ticket covers the monastery, the Catacombs and the museum.

Visiting Aladzha Monastery: what to see

The monastery was carved into the cliff face by hermit monks in the Middle Ages, probably in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, and its caves were used earlier by early Christian monks. The complex is on two levels, about forty metres high on the cliff: the lower level holds a church, monks' cells, a kitchen and a crypt, and the upper level, reached by metal stairs, holds a chapel, with fragments of medieval frescoes still visible on the rock walls. The monastery's name, Aladzha, is Turkish for multi-coloured, perhaps describing the colourful frescoes that once covered the walls. About six hundred metres from the monastery, a path leads to the Catacombs, a group of caves on three levels used by early Christians.

The museum at the entrance displays finds from the site and explains the life of the hermits. The lower church's altar area is carved into the rock, and niches in the walls held icons and lamps. The monks' cells are small caves with carved beds. The crypt was used for burials. The upper chapel's frescoes, though faded, show figures of saints and scenes from the life of Christ. The metal stairs and platforms were installed to make the upper levels accessible. The Catacombs, a short walk through the forest, are older and have several rooms carved into the rock. The museum's exhibits include pottery, coins and religious objects found at the site. The forest around the monastery is part of a protected nature park with walking trails.

Aladzha Monastery opening hours and the best time to go

The monastery is open daily, with shorter hours in winter and closing on some days out of season. Summer is the busiest season, when the Black Sea resorts are full, and mornings are the best time to avoid crowds. Spring and autumn are pleasant for walking in the forest. In summer, evening light and sound shows are sometimes held at the monastery. Allow about forty-five minutes for the monastery and the catacombs, and combine the visit with Varna's Archaeological Museum, which holds the Varna gold, the oldest worked gold in the world. The Varna Archaeological Museum displays gold objects from the Varna Necropolis, dated to around 4500 BC.