Bulgaria is famous all over the world for its pristine nature, national parks and nature reserves, unique natural monuments. One has only to leave the bustling city to see bizarre-shaped rocks, azure mountain lakes, and fragrant coniferous groves. Just a few kilometers from Sofia, on the slopes of the famous Rila Mountains, there are the stone pyramids, which are considered a popular tourist destination and real pride of the country.

A real miracle of nature, the Stob Pyramids, are tall, slender rocks known all over the world as hoodoo. With a base diameter of almost 40 meters and a height of up to 12 meters, they occupy 7.5 hectares. Some of them look like sharp peaks pointing into the sky, others are like stone mushrooms with a cone-shaped base and a flat cap with a diameter of more than a meter. The unusual shapes of the rocks contributed to the appearance of many interesting names, like the Towers, the Peaks, the Pinnacles, the Brothers, the Matchmakers, or the Samodiva Chimneys.

According to an ancient legend, the site of the rock formations was previously occupied by a plain, where locals celebrated weddings in a big way. But once one woman did not like her future son-in-law and decided to cast a curse on the plain: when the young bride would have kissed her father-in-law according to the local tradition, the newlyweds and all the guests would have turned into giant stones. And so, the stones, blown by mountain winds, still stand here for centuries.

The Stob Pyramids are especially impressive at sunrise or sunset. The rocks of different colors, from pale yellow to bright red, are iridescent in the southern sunlight. They shine like diamonds and mesmerize with their beauty. Those who want to see the rocks from a bird's eye view should climb the so-called eco-trail. The top of the natural observation deck offers a fantastic view of the Stob Pyramids and their surroundings, the snowy peaks in the distance and the rushing waters of the river, as well as the picturesque approaches to the ancient Rila Monastery.