The Dancing Bears Park is located in the South part of Rila Mountain, in the Andrianov Chark area, 12 km away from the town of Belitsa.
This is a sort of a mini-reserve for bears, owned by Gypsies. It was founded in 1999 by Bridget Bardo and the Four Paws Foundation. The aim is the park to be a shelter for bears which were traditionally used by gypsies to collect charters (the bear driver plays a gadulka or other instrument and she “dances”) Here in the park these bears can be returned to their natural environment. Its first inhabitants came in 2000. Now, there are no Dancing Bears in Bulgaria. They are all sheltered in the Park. There are currently 26 bears from Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania.
The park stretches over 120,000 sq. m. and offers its inhabitants dense forests and hills for walks and seclusion, meadows and specially built sunbathing areas. Different in size and shape baths and sleeping lakes are also built here.
In this way, dancing bears have a natural environment and a sheltered place for a peaceful life close to the normal for their species. Here, for the first time, the bears can feel and demonstrate their wild instincts and inborn behavior which have been suppressed during their bondage.
Sources: http://www.park.belitsa.com/park.php
https://www.bearsanctuary-belitsa.org/bg/
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- Services: The visit in the park is allowed only with a guide. Tours are every 30 minutes. The lectures are in Bulgarian and English without additional payment. Entrance fee: Adults – 6 BGN; Children – 3 BGN; People with disabilities - free Adult groups - 4 BGN / person *; Children groups – 2 BGN/person*; * For groups of more than 10 people, a discount is available - with advance booking
- Accessibility: Mixed – bus, car, bicycle, walk. The park has steep sections and is not suitable for people with mobility difficulties Parking - free. If you are a group traveling in a large bus, the bus cannot reach the main park entrance. You will need to allow about a 30 minute walk from the bus parking lot to the main entrance.
- Coordinates: 42°01'52.0"N 23°34'56.5"E
- Note: Working time – every day April - June: 12:00 – 18:00 July - August: 10:00 – 12:00; 13:00 – 18:00; September - November: 12:00 – 18:00 December - April: closed for visitors
