Lakatnik is a not so
famous,
but lovely place in the Bulgarian
mountains called the Stara
Planina (better known as Balkan
Mountains).
It is located near the site where the river Iskar on its way from the central Bulgarian Highlands to the river Danube breaks through the chain of the Balkan mountains (Iskar Gorge), thus forming bizarre white and red cliffs that surround the village.
For the white cliffs and the various caverns that are formed within the karst rocks, Lakatnik is an Eldorado for alpinists and other folks who love caverns, bats and wildlife.
Lakatnik can easily be reached by train from Sofia. The railway track follows the route of the famous Orient Express. Unfortunately, since departure time in Istanbul was always in the late afternoon, Lakatnik was never to be seen in the old Agatha Christie movie. Passing Lakatnik it was always deep at night, so maybe the mysterious murder
in the Orient Express happend right here.
Although less luxurious than in Agatha Christies book, trains still serve Lakatnik. Journey time from Sofia is about 1:20 hour (ordinary trains) or 55 min (fast trains).
It is located near the site where the river Iskar on its way from the central Bulgarian Highlands to the river Danube breaks through the chain of the Balkan mountains (Iskar Gorge), thus forming bizarre white and red cliffs that surround the village.
For the white cliffs and the various caverns that are formed within the karst rocks, Lakatnik is an Eldorado for alpinists and other folks who love caverns, bats and wildlife.
Lakatnik can easily be reached by train from Sofia. The railway track follows the route of the famous Orient Express. Unfortunately, since departure time in Istanbul was always in the late afternoon, Lakatnik was never to be seen in the old Agatha Christie movie. Passing Lakatnik it was always deep at night, so maybe the mysterious murder
in the Orient Express happend right here.
Although less luxurious than in Agatha Christies book, trains still serve Lakatnik. Journey time from Sofia is about 1:20 hour (ordinary trains) or 55 min (fast trains).
Departure from Sofia: 05:52 07:15 07:25 10:30 11:19 12:15 13:15 14:15
16:15 16:40 18:00 19:00 20:05 21:00 22:30
Departure from Lakatnik: 04:13 05:49 06:19 07:03 08:51 10:32
13:25 15:39 17:02 17:29 19:07 20:50
fast trains in pink
timetable valid until 11.12.2007
