Vladaya (river)

The Vladayska reka (Bulgarian: Владайска река) is a 37 km-long river in western Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Perlovska, itself a left tributary of the Iskar of the Danube drainage.^[1]

Vladaya
The Vladayska on Vitosha Mountain
Native name	Владайска река (Bulgarian)
Location
Country	Bulgaria
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	NW of Cherni Vrah, Vitosha
• coordinates	42.5642°N 23.2831°E / 42.5642; 23.2831
• elevation	2,245 m (7,365 ft)
Mouth
• location	Perlovska
• coordinates	42.7532°N 23.3734°E / 42.7532; 23.3734
• elevation	550 m (1,800 ft)
Length	37 km (23 mi)
Basin size	151 km2 (58 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Perlovska→ Iskar→ Danube→ Black Sea

Geography

The Lions' Bridge over the river

The river takes its source at an altitude of 2,245 m from the northwestern slopes of Cherni Vrah (2,290 m), the highest summit of the Vitosha mountain range. It flows northwest through the Torfeno Branishte nature reserve, then submerges beneath the stone run of Zlatnite Mostove, and descends to the village of Vladaya in a deep, steep and forested valley. In the village the river bends in direction northeast, runs through the Vladaya Saddle that separates Vitosha from the Lyulin mountain range, and then enters the Sofia Valley and the outskirts of the city of Sofia.^[1][2][3]

There, it runs through the neighbourhoods of Knyazhevo, Karpuzitsa and Ovcha Kupel, reaching the Serdika industrial zone. From there it enters the downtown through the boulevards of Engineer Ivan Ivanov and Slivnitsa. After Stochna Gara Square it flows through the Hadzhi Dimitar industrial zone, the Orlandovtsi neighbourhood, then north of Maleshevtsi and east of Benkovski, both neighbourhoods of Sofia. In the vicinity of the Obradinovski Monastery the river flows into the Perlovska reka at an altitude of 515 m, just 500 m of the Perlovska reka's confluence with the Iskar.^[1]

Its drainage basin covers a territory of 151 km² or 58.8% of the Perlovska's total.^[1]

The Vladayska reka has rain–snow feed with high water in April–June and low water in August–October. The average annual discharge at Knyazhevo is 0.65 m³/s.^[1]

In the upper course of the river in Vitosha there are numerous tourist tracks. In Sofia its whole course is corrected. There are numerous bridges over the Vladayska reka, the most important historically being the Lions' Bridge. Other bridges include the Aleskandrov and the Heroes' Bridge.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Upper course in Vitosha
• 
  The river passes under Zlatnite Mostove
• 
  Corrected course in Sofia
• 
  View from the Heroes' Bridge