The Lakatnishki (Osikovski) rocks are located on the left bank of the Iskar River between the Opletnenska and Proboynitsa rivers. The 250-meter cliffs marked the beginning of organized mountaineering in Bulgaria.
How to get there: 60 km. from the town of Vratsa to the town of Sofia through the Iskar Gorge.
Practical information:
The site can be visited by tourists all year round.
In the vicinity are:
- Dark Hole Cave - Its opening is 27 meters above the left bank of the Iskar River, north of Lakatnik station. It consists of four floors and two main galleries and is a complex labyrinth of entrances, galleries, waterfalls, rapids, siphons, lakes and underground rivers. The whole system has a total length of over 9000 m, which ranks it first in length among the Stara Planina caves. Research on the galleries continues. It is not rich in cave formations, but it is remarkable for its cave fauna and in this respect is one of the best studied.
- karst spring "Zhitolyub" - Located at the foot of Lakatnishki rocks, under the cave Dark Hole 8 meters from the level of the river Iskar. The spring is one of the largest karst springs in the country and is the product of two underground rivers. take part of the waters of the rivers Petrenska and Proboynitsa, which pass through the water floors of the cave Dark Hole and through a narrow siphon flow into the spring at the foot of the rocks.In torrential rains through it pass up to 1200 liters per second. and an artificial lake.
- Alpine Eagle's Nest Shelter
- On the rocks you can see a massive red monument with a pentacle. Its purpose is to commemorate those who died in 1923. September.
- Next to it rises a 10-meter iron cross, erected in 2001 in memory of the fallen mountaineers and climbers from all over the country, where a prayer service is held every year.
The following trails are in the area:
- tourist route: Lakatnik station - Milanovo village - hut Parshevitsa, (5 hours)
- tourist and cycling route: "Mahala Svrazhen - mahala Staro selo", (1,5h.)