River · Bulgaria
Iskar
Iskar is the longest river that lies completely inside Bulgaria. It begins high in the Rila Mountains, passes close to the capital Sofia and joins the Danube at the village of Gigen.
Picture credit: Ludger Heide (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Ludger Heide (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Iskar?
The river starts here: Rila Mountains in western Bulgaria.
It ends in the Danube at Gigen.
Countries on the river: Bulgaria.
The story behind it
The most exciting part of the Iskar is its gorge. North of Sofia the river has sawn straight through the Balkan Mountains, leaving cliffs, needles of rock and strange stone shapes on both sides. A railway line squeezes through the same gap, crossing bridge after bridge and diving into more than twenty tunnels, so the trip feels like a ride through a giant's garden. Higher up, a large reservoir stores drinking water for the capital. Storks nest in the villages of the plain, and barbel and chub swim in the slower stretches. In late summer the water can be low and warm, while spring snowmelt makes it fast and cold. At the end of its journey the Iskar slips quietly into the Danube.
Questions children ask
How long is the Iskar?
The Iskar is about 368 kilometres long. It is the longest river that runs from source to mouth without ever leaving Bulgaria.
Which countries does the Iskar flow through?
The Iskar flows through Bulgaria alone. It crosses the country from the Rila Mountains in the south-west to the Danube plain in the north.
Where does the Iskar flow into?
It flows into the Danube near the village of Gigen in northern Bulgaria. The Danube then carries the water east until it reaches the Black Sea.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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