A project to create the first geopark in Bulgaria, which would unite natural and cultural-historical sites in a common tourist product, was presented in Pomorie. The concept was developed by the Local Initiative Group (LIG) “Pomorie“ and aims to attract more tourists and create new opportunities for local business.
The geopark is planned to cover the entire territory of the Pomorie municipality and the area around the village of Golitsa in the Dolni Chiflik municipality, Varna region. An application will also be made for its inclusion in the UNESCO Global Network of Geoparks, announced the mayor of Pomorie Ivan Aleksiev, quoted by BTV.
“We have been working on this project for two years now. The structure of the geopark will be at the Regional History Museum in Pomorie“, said Aleksiev.
According to him, the Municipal Council has already given a positive opinion.
The development of the concept began in 2024 and is already in its final stage. Among the planned sites are three paleovolcanoes in the areas of Dubnik, Kableshkovo and Kamenar, the Pomorie Lagoon, the Pomorie Lake, the salt pans and deposits of healing mud.
The area near the village of Kozichino is also included, where traces of the geological transition from about 66 million years ago, associated with the mass extinction of species and the disappearance of non-avian dinosaurs, have been preserved.
The sites will be connected by thematic tourist routes. Among them are routes around the Pomorie Lagoon and the Nymphaeum Coast, the “Tierra del Fuego“, which will connect the paleovolcanoes, a route near the mouth of the Aheloy River and a route to the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary near Kozichino.
Information boards, audio guides, QR codes and maps are planned, as well as visitor centers, educational materials and initiatives for children. The tourist product will be intended for both individual visitors and for use by the tourism business.
When developing the concept, the experience of geoparks in Italy, Greece, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Norway was studied.
According to UNESCO data, there are 241 global geoparks in 51 countries in the world. Bulgaria does not yet have a geopark recognized by the organization.