Last Updated: May 2026
The River Duchess docked at Vidin on the Bulgarian bank of the Danube, a small city with its own medieval Baba Vida Fortress visible from the water. Our excursion took us 50 kilometers south by motorcoach into the foothills of the Balkan Mountains — and as we rounded the last bend before the town of Belogradchik, the red cliffs rose suddenly above the rooftops like something from another planet. Belogradchik Red Rock Valley is a spectacular natural wonder known for its striking sandstone and conglomerate rock formations, stretching approximately 30 kilometers in length and about 3 kilometers wide. Sandy turned to me immediately and said: “Why have I never heard of this place?” Neither of us had any idea what we were walking into.
