Karchovsko is a village in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in the municipality of Kirkovo, Kardzhali Region.

The village is located 14 km north of Kirkovo, 42 km south of Kardzhali, 26 km in south-west of Momchilgrad and about 282 km south-east of the capital Sofia city. The villages of Hadzhiysko and Fotinovo are located respectively at 4 and 6 km in the south.

It is situated in an area with hilly and foothill relief at an altitude of 340 meters. The climate is transitional-Mediterranean, winters are relatively mild and summers are long and hot.

Here live about 180 people.

The village has a relatively good infrastructure, the main streets are paved, there are electricity and water supply systems. All mobile operators have coverage. Regular bus transport connects the village with the municipal center and the neighbouring villages.

There are a mosque and a grocery store here. The nearest a community center is located in the village of Varben /2 km in the south-east/. Kindergarten you can find in the village of Hadzhiysko and primary school - in the village of Fotinovo. Medical assistance can be obtained again in Fotinovo - by one GP. General hospital you will find in the town of Momchilgrad and secondary school - in the village of Benkovski /12 km in the south- west/.

LANDMARKS AND TOURISM

On the left bank on Varbitsa River, near the village of Fotinovo, you can see six Thracian niches, ancient cuts, grooves and a rock tomb.There are also amazing rock formations resembling turtles that are carved in the rocks. According to the researchers thay were made by an ancient civilization that used to inhabit the Eastern Rhodopes.

Only 6 km in the north-east, in the village of Stareyshino, can be visited the Dome tomb "Punar Kaya" which means rock well in Turkish. The water that rises from the tomb is collected in two stone basin carved into the rock before it. The tomb is revered among local people as sacred, as there is a belief that the place and the water flowing from the tomb, have curative power.

In the village of Krilatitsa, 10 km in the south, you can visit a late ancient and medieval fortress in the Asara area, declared in 1996 to be an archaeological culture monument.

In the village of Benkovski you can see a few sites:

• the renovated mosque in the center of the village where Muslims from all over the region gather to pray;

• the venerable oak, over 200 years old, declared protected;

• a Thracian rock tomb in Veslets heighbourhood - carved in a rocky massive, with a semicircular shape. Today, there is a hole in the dome and it is honoured by the local people as a squeeze. After passing through the bushes aro  und the stone they tie threads around to leave the disease there;

• a rocky area, where the elements have for centuries carved the huge stones in a variety of bizarre rock forms of animals and plants, the most interesting of which are "The Crocodile", "The Mushroom", "Lion's Head", etc.

Veykata Peak /1463 m/ - Bulgaria's southernmost site, is situated 21 km in the south-west. Interesting for tourists is also the protected area nearby, representing a mountainous area covered with mesophytic forests, including endangered natural habitats. From the top you can see the Aegean Sea.

Source:  http://www.kirkovo.bg
Photos:  http://www.panoramio.com