History

        Interest in Bulgarian waterfalls has existed for a long time, but for years, the available information about them was highly limited. In the past, only a small fraction - no more than fifty waterfalls - featured on tourist maps and guidebooks, and for many of them, descriptions, photographs, and accurate locations were completely lacking.

With the expansion of the internet, the first online communities and useful information sources began to emerge. Among them, an important place belongs to the Bgmountains forum and website—a publicly accessible initiative that we support and to which we have contributed information over the years to help enrich their map. In their forum (Bgmountains forum - https://forum.bg-turist.com/index.php), many waterfalls unknown to the general public were showcased, and hundreds of locations found a place on the free online map www.kade.si. At the time, these were just markers on a map, virtually lacking any detailed information, but it was the first step toward better promoting Bulgarian waterfalls.

Subsequently, the first specialized guidebook featuring photographic material was published - "Waterfalls of Bulgaria" (https://www.waterfallsbg.info). This book contributed to the visual popularization of the topic among a wider audience, though it included only 60 Bulgarian waterfalls. A Facebook community of the same name was also created, which remains one of the most popular groups dedicated to Bulgarian waterfalls to this day. While these initiatives played an important role in raising interest in natural landmarks, they did not solve the core issue - building a publicly accessible database and a comprehensive map of Bulgarian waterfalls.

Following the rise of social networks, and especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in Bulgarian nature grew significantly. More and more people began visiting mountains, rivers, and waterfalls, and a massive amount of information, photos, and videos of various natural sites flooded the public sphere. Alongside these positive trends, a practice gradually emerged where information regarding lesser-known waterfalls was presented incompletely or intentionally withheld - particularly regarding their exact locations and access routes. In some cases, this was tied to commercial activities, such as organized treks and paid tours; in others, it was driven by a desire for greater attention on social media and public platforms. Unfortunately, posts and initiatives claiming exclusivity and uniqueness regarding the discovery and promotion of Bulgarian waterfalls continue to this day. This gradually highlighted the necessity for an independent, well-organized, and publicly accessible source of information on Bulgarian waterfalls, and our initiative took off in that direction.

In the spring of 2021, the "Waters of Bulgaria/Водите на България/" community was established, represented by a Facebook group. This was a non-profit initiative founded on the principles of free information exchange, respect for nature, and the desire to make beautiful, lesser-known places accessible to everyone.

In the summer of 2022, the first publicly accessible map of waterfalls in Bulgaria was published via the Google My Maps platform – https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1gQzO5wZ40LKE_PNe26KMEnvb0n03LL8x&ll=42.58960130325506%2C25.300787900000003&z=7

These two milestones allowed more and more people to easily discover new sites and plan their visits. In just a few short years, the collected database grew to over 2,000 waterfalls. As the volume of information increased, so did the need for better organization, clear criteria, and a more suitable technological platform to sustain and grow the project.

At the end of 2025, the initiative took its next major step - launching its own website. This marked the beginning of a more modern, organized, and sustainable system for developing the largest publicly accessible database of Bulgarian waterfalls.

The story of the project continues today - thanks to the people who love nature and believe that knowledge should be shared.