LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART CONTEST - Leshten village

Because a person without a past is a person without a future. This is exactly what our Motherland is: beautiful, rich in natural features and cultural and historical values.
That is why today we are going back in history to the village of Leshten to immerse ourselves in the magic of this place: familiar and not there, deserted, but retaining the authentic spirit and breath that you can feel at every step along the cobbled narrow streets.

The village of Leshten is located in the Western Rhodopes at an altitude of 1093 meters between the villages of Baldevo, Skrebatno and Dryanovo, Ognyanovo and not far from the historical and architectural reserve Kovachevitsa.

What is typical for the area of Leshten is the high altitude and the steep slopes on which the small houses are scattered. Its difference with neighboring villages is that Leshten is located in a mountainous and highly hilly area. Surrounded by the pristine nature of the Western Rhodopes and with a distant view of the Pirin Mountains. It is this location that makes the forest fund extremely rich in mulberry, pine, spruce, but there are also deposits of broad-leaved trees, represented by beech and oak.

The climate in the village of Leshten is on the border of two climate zones - temperate continental, which prevails, and transitional Mediterranean, which penetrates from the valley of the Mesta River.
The seasons are clearly defined - summer is warm and winter is moderately cold. However, the snow cover lasts a long time, until the middle of April, and the rains are more abundant. There are no serious and large temperature records, neither in terms of minimum values, nor in terms of maximum values.

When it comes to population, out of the whole Garmen municipality, this is the least populated place. Its permanent residents are 8 people at the last count as of 15 December 2022, however, the village is often visited by tourists, so the number greatly exceeds its permanent residents.
There is an interesting tradition that the old grandmothers of Leshten can tell you when you go there, namely: if you hear a cuckoo, check if you have money in your pocket. So your year will be rich.