Looking at photos in Panoramio to scout for new and interesting places to photograph, I came across a suspension bridge over the Maritsa River. The bridge is located just before Popovitsa and Seltsi villages and connects them to the village Chalakovi.
It is not easy to get to the bridge itself. One option is if you come from Plovdiv, a dirt road that begins just before the railway overpass of the Popovici village. Another option is through the villages Belozem and Chalakovi, after Chalakovi village road is in the fields. I’m not even sure it can be reached by car. For sure you can get there by foot.
I personally tried several to get there by the dirt road before Popovitsa. The road can not even be called a dirt road – it is made gradually from the passing cars. At heavy rainfall reaching the bridge is almost impossible due to the formation of huge mud puddles along the way
The suspension bridge near Popovitsa village
If you do manage to reach the suspension bridge, a pretty nice view opens up in front of you, especially during sunset.
It turns out that the bridge itself is not made of ropes 🙂 The structure is made entirely of metal, which is probably why the bridge still has not fallen into the river.
The bridge itself is overgrown with bushes and thorns, but is still used by the local population. When I went first to the bridge was like this:
Crossing the suspension bridge was really an extreme experience. After all the bridge was built in the 70s. Fortunately for the residents in the village Popovitsa and Chalakovi, Sadovo municipality made slight build up to the bridge and now it looks like this:
Even now, after the rebulid of the suspension bridge between villages Chalakovi, Popovitsa and Seltsi there is a sign saying that the facility can not be used because there is a risk of falling. Unfortunately the local population has no choice and still uses the bridge as it is the most direct path between these villages.
