The picturesque small village of Shiroka Laka, surrounded by the Rhodope Mountains, is located on the flowery banks of the Shirokolashka River, just a few kilometers from the lively Bulgarian town of Smolyan. On one side of the village, there is the famous Devin spa resort, on the other – the popular Pamporovo ski resort. What more could tourists, who'd like to have fun between educational tours to the architectural and historical reserve, ask for?

The traditional rural settlement with the funny name "Shiroka Laka" has become famous not only for its magnificent architectural monuments but also for its very original folklore. Thanks to the national school of folklore art, the village is always busy. Every festive day here is not without melodious Rhodope songs to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments. Once a year, in the middle of spring, Shiroka Laka hosts a folk festival "Pesponedelnik". The so-called kukers, huge costumed dolls on long wooden sticks, run along the winding streets and sing folk songs, driving out evil spirits from all the rural houses.

Despite the entertainment that is more like pagan, the population of Shiroka Laka mainly professes Christianity, while all the nearby villages have been Muslim since the rule of the Ottoman Empire. This fact is evidenced by the main shrine of the village, the Church of the Holy Mother of God, dating back to the 19th century. It is artfully decorated with paintings by the brothers Dimitar and Zahari Zograf.

Every house here is filled with the spirit of the past. Two-story mansions with stone-paved courtyards and wooden stairs make an unforgettable impression on modern tourists. Several houses deserve special attention. For example, the houses of the Kalaidjii, Uchikov and Grigorov families. With tall chimneys and small narrow windows, the houses of Shiroka Laka resemble fairy tale dwellings, but only of impressive size and uniquely located like the benches in a huge amphitheater. The center of the village is occupied by the main local attraction, the ethnographic museum "Zgurovsky Konak".