Another fountain on the Shumen plateau has been completely renovated. The water springs from the "Mermaid" cave and is known among tourists as "white water". DayThe works were carried out under the project “Drop by Drop” of the BeCause Foundation, which is implemented in the natural parks “Shumen Plateau” and “Vitosha” by the Association of Parks in Bulgaria. The total budget of the project for the two parks is 16,000 BGN, with the funds for Shumen being around 4,000 BGN.
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The fountain bed has been repaired and strengthened, and it has been cleaned of sediment and mold. The area has been renovated, all the benches have been painted, and there is a new place to relax under the arch of the cave. During the summer, the scouts from the Madarski Konnik Youth Club replaced the wooden parts of the seating and tables, and with the new activities, the area has been completely restored. Employees of the Shumen Plateau Nature Reserve, volunteers and scouts were involved in the work. Cleaning the catchments and repairs further improve the quality of the water. Using tap water can lead to a reduction in the use of single-use bottles, which is one of the goals of the project.
The area of the Rusalka cave, also known as Sulumara, is one of the most visited in the Shumen Plateau Nature Reserve. Two separate thematic routes, popular with tourists, pass through the place on convenient paths - "A Lesson on the Forest Trail" and "Bulgaria Begins Here". This is one of the reasons why the Association of Parks in Bulgaria included the Shumen fountain in its project.
The availability of working water sources is one of the important factors for visitors to nature parks, and the creation of fountains is part of centuries-old traditions in Bulgaria. However, maintenance and restoration is often an expensive process, which is associated with difficulties in finding water intakes, identifying leaks and interrupted sections of water transport.
This year, two more fountains were restored entirely with volunteer labor. One is in the "Lion" area, and the other is located at the foot of the Park and is called the "Mirror Fountain.".