﻿The Magura Cave is located in northeastern Bulgaria, 17 km from Belogradchik, in the limestone Rabisha burial mound (altitude 461 meters). It is one of the largest and most beautiful caves in Bulgaria. It consists of a main gallery and three side branches. The overall length of the cave is approximately 2500 meters. The temperature in the cave is a constant 12 degrees Centigrade, year-round. It is most visited during the summer months. According to geological studies, The Magura Cave began to take shape about 15 million years ago. In one of the caverns, prehistoric paintings have been discovered, carved into the walls and decorated with bat guano (droppings). The paintings depict the silhouettes of women, men dancing and hunting, people wearing masks, animals, stars, tools, and plants. The paintings date from different eras – the early Paleolithic, the Neolithic, the later Neolithic, and the beginning of the Bronze Age. A solar calendar from the late Neolithic found there is the earliest solar calendar discovered in Europe. It is painted on the walls of the sanctuary hall and depicts 5 festivals and 366 days. The Magura Cave was recognized as a natural landmark by Decree 666 on 3 May 1960. The cave offers one of the richest collections of geological formations, of all shapes and sizes – stalactites, stalagmites, columns, Geodesic formations, cave pearls, and flows of “cave milk”.