Welcome to the birth place of Orpheus!

Have you heard the legend of the mythical Thracian singer Orpheus?

He played his lyre with such an inspiration that even wild beasts and trees were charmed by his music.

When you come here you will inevitably realize that it is the beauty of the nature around that inspired him.

The village of Gela is located in the Central Rhodope mountains at approximately 1500 m above the sea level just at the foot of the the most imposing peaks of the Rhodope mountains –.Grand Perelik (2191 m), Orpheus (2188 m) and Tourlata (1825 m). The village is located 6 km from Shiroka Luka, 18 km from the famous Pamporovo ski resort and 30 km from the city of Smolian.

This small village has more than 3300 years of history and is considered to be one of the cradles of the European civilization. In early antiquity Gela was inhabited by the richest members of the Thracian tribe of the Bessi. The ancient Tracian fortress “Gradishte” can be seen at 5 km South of the village. In Roman times Gela was an important cultural, trade and defense center. Mountain. Tourlata once had a fortress which remains can still be seen nowadays on the top of the peak. Pieces of the Roman roads connecting Aegean towns with the Upper Thracian Valley can be found at many places around the the village as well.

During the five centuries of Ottoman opression the local population was not affected by the mass conversion to isliam religion. The people here are proud with the fact that their small village had managed to preserve two Orthodox churches and four chapels.

The village is famous not only as a cultural reserve but also as a health center. The fresh mountain air and the unique fion wind coming from the Egean Sea are with negative ionization which make the stay in Gela exceptionally favorable especially for people with respiratory problems.

The climate in the region is considerably tempered by the southern influence. The average annual temperature is 9°C. Winters are mild and summers warm and fresh, thanks to the local mountain breezes.

Gela is one of the sunniest places in Europe with more than 280 sunny days per year. It is not coincident that the Rojhen observatory - the 5th astronomy observatory in Europe and the largest in the Balkans, is built in the region.

Despite the fact it had been inhabited for thousands of years, the region of Gela still preserves some wild places that seem to be untouched by humans. This region is a remote refuge for many exceptionally rare plants and animals. This is the only place where you can see the symbol of the Rhodopes – the Orpheus flower (Heberlea rhodopaensis). This is an unique endemic and the only one of its kind worldwide - even extracted and kept in herbarium for long time it comes to live when replanted.

The forests around Gela abound with wild fruits, briars, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and mushrooms. There is also a great diversity of herbs and healing plants.

Scattered among 7 different hamlets, the village of Gela seems to have changed little over the last few hundred years. Local people continue to maintain a traditional rural existence ploughing the fields by hand and tending their livestock on the surrounding meadows and pastures.

With only 98 inhabitants, 200 sheep, 20 cows and 10 goats at a territory of 18 km², Gela is one of the loveliest places in the Rhodopes. The silence here is broken only by the sound of cow-bells and the music of the bagpipes.

With his healthy air, quietness and carless roads this is the best place to visit if you want to escape from the urban life for a while.