bridge
Devil's Bridge (Dyavolski Most)
Elegant 16th-century Ottoman arch bridge spanning the Arda River in a wild Rhodope gorge near Ardino, reached by a short mountain road: a legendary photo stop steeped in folklore.
20 km · about 25 min drive
EuropeBulgariaSmolyan
Madan
Smolyan, Bulgaria · Europe
About Madan
Madan is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Rudozem, 46km from Wonderful Bridges.
Madan is in Smolyan, Bulgaria, with about 5,700 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Rudozem, about 8 km away.
Madan (Bulgarian: Мадан [mɐˈdan]) is a town in Smolyan Province, the very south of Bulgaria in the Yellow Share of the Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Madan Municipality. In 2019, the town had a population of 6,597.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Madan?
Within an hour or so of Madan: Devil's Bridge (Dyavolski Most) (20 km), Wonderful Bridges (46 km), Devil's Throat Cave (48 km), Trigrad Gorge (49 km).
Are there any good drives near Madan?
The nearest famous roads are Trigrad Gorge, Shipka Pass and Troyan Pass (Beklemeto).
Where is Madan?
Madan is in Smolyan, Bulgaria, about 8 km from Rudozem.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 5,661
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Bulgaria
- Region
- Smolyan
- Timezone
- Europe/Sofia
- Coordinates
- 41.4987, 24.9397
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Bulgaria
Vignette required for all roads outside towns.
Full driving guide for BulgariaTags
Worth the detour from Madan
6 notable places within an hour's drive.
natural wonder
Wonderful Bridges
Two natural marble rock arches formed by a collapsed cave in the Rhodope mountains, reached by a paved road with a car park.
46 km · about 55 min drive
natural wonder
Devil's Throat Cave
A cave in the Trigrad gorge where a river plunges into an underground hall, visited via a tunnel entrance with roadside parking.
48 km · about 55 min drive
famous road
Trigrad Gorge
Narrow Rhodope canyon road squeezing between 250 m marble cliffs to the Devil's Throat Cave, where a river thunders underground: one of Bulgaria's most dramatic drives.
49 km · about 55 min drive
ancient ruins
Perperikon
The largest megalithic complex in the Balkans: an entire city with palace, shrine and streets hewn from a rocky hilltop in the Eastern Rhodopes, occupied from 5000 BCE and linked by legend to an oracle of Dionysus.
50 km · about 60 min drive
castle
Asen's Fortress
A medieval fortress ruin with a surviving 13th-century church on a rock spur above the Chepelare river, beside the Asenovgrad–Smolyan road.
55 km · about 65 min drive
Driving roads near Madan
3 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- 20 kmDevil's Bridge (Dyavolski Most)Elegant 16th-century Ottoman arch bridge spanning the Arda River in a wild Rhodope gorge near Ardino, reached by a short mountain road: a legendary photo stop steeped in folklore.
- 49 kmTrigrad GorgeNarrow Rhodope canyon road squeezing between 250 m marble cliffs to the Devil's Throat Cave, where a river thunders underground: one of Bulgaria's most dramatic drives.
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