Svinskata dupka (Pig’s Hole)

The cave is located about 2.2 km northwest of Gara Lakatnik. Its entrance is revealed at the base of a high rocky ridge, on the left geographical bank of the Petrenska River. The entrance has an almost triangular shape and dimensions: width 6.85 m by height 2.70 m. It is clearly visible from the bridge at the confluence of the Petrenska and Probojnitsa rivers. After the entrance, you find yourself in a semi-lit vestibule in which traces of archaeological excavations are visible. A straight gallery about 140 meters long starts from the entrance. The average height of the gallery reaches 3.50 m, and in places its width is 8 m. There are no cave formations. In the second half of the cave, the gallery makes a series of sharp zig-zag turns until the final hall is reached. Here, deposits of wet clay and numerous gravity blocks appear on the floor of the gallery. The cave is warm and humid, it is a year-round refuge for single bats.

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  A rare arachnid is found in Svinska Dupka - Paralola buresi. This species was described in 1951 and until recently was known only from the caves in the Lakatnik Rocks. In 2014, it was also discovered in the caves near the village of Gintsi, Ponor Mountain.
  Drilling excavations were carried out in the Pig’s Hole by the historian teacher Y. Shopov. In addition to the current fauna, many remains of a cave bear were found in it. In this respect, it is a real tomb of bears. According to the legends of the local population, a pig farmer lost his pigs near Gara Lakatnik and after a long and tiring wandering found them as far as the entrance of Ledenika cave near Vratsa. The name of the hole has remained Pig’s Hole since then. In fact, this is one of the most widespread legends in Bulgaria and you can hear it in almost every settlement near which there are caves. Often, animals or livestock, which change depending on the region where the hole is located, ‘cross’ the border underground and appear in Greece, Turkey, but most often in Serbia.
  There is another similar legend about Svinskata Dupka. According to it, during the Turkish reign, people were afraid to travel on the roads to Vratsa, but sometimes they had to go to the market for goods that they could not produce themselves. Then they gathered in groups and passed through Svinska Dupka. They were afraid to enter the dark cave alone, lit only by torches. After a day or two of walking, they emerged above Vratsa. Later, a rockslide closed this road.