What comes to mind when you think of energy vortexes? Stonehenge, Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramid in Giza, probably. But you do not have to travel that far to visit a place brimming with strange powers, where odd creatures and supposedly UFOs get spotted on a regular basis and where sick-and-lame folks flock, seeking supernatural cures. All you have to do is visit one, or all, of the places on our list of energy vortexes in Bulgaria. As a bonus, most of them are located at stunning natural locations.

"Tomb" of Egyptian Goddess Bastet

Until 1981, the 710-metre-above-sea-level Golyamo Gradishte peak in the Strandzha mountain range was quiet. Under Communism it was located in the highly guarded border zone with NATO-member Turkey, and was known only to the abundant wildlife, border guards, and the odd refugee trying to escape the East bloc.

The remains on Golyamo Gradishte are uninspiring today, but at the feet of the mount you will find the fascinating Mishkova Niva tomb. Amazingly, proper archaeologists excavated this astonishing piece of ancient Thracian and Roman funerary compound at the same time with the secret digs at Golyamo Gradishte. The secrecy that enshrouded the Vanga-inspired expedition was so complete that the archaeologists at Mishkova Niva were completely unaware of it. Today, the ancient tomb is the best archaeological site to visit in the Strandzha

It all changed when Lyudmila Zhivkova, daughter of Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, learnt that Vanga, the blind clairvoyant, had identified a location in the Strandzha as the hiding place of "the history of the world 2,000 years before us and 2,000 years after us." Apparently, some gold was involved as well. Zhivkova had a soft spot for the esoteric, history and archaeology, and acted swiftly. A secret expedition was formed. Reputedly, it discovered the location Vanga had described and started digging. It never finished. In quick succession both Zhivkova and the minister who supervised the excavations died. Scared, the "researchers" dynamited the site and left.

Ordinary Bulgarians learnt about the 1981 events after Communism collapsed, in 1989, and two of the expedition's participants published astonishing, and contradictory, accounts of what had happened. Both witnesses emphasised that Bulgaria was a sacred ground of world importance and millennia-old history. 

In the following decades, whipped up by the sensationalist media, the fame of the supposed tomb of Bastet grew with new stories, hypotheses and legends invented on a regular basis.

No one, bar the 1981 excavators, is sure what exactly happened at Golyamo Gradishte. The site can now be visited, with the help of the Tourist Centre in Malko Tarnovo. Believers claim they can see the face of a cat on a rock overlooking the former digs, and feel a dark, ominous aura around the place.

For the sceptic, the site is nothing more than a vertical rock, half-covered in creepers, and a stagnant pond that appeared after the digs were blasted. According to archaeologists, the secret expedition "explored" not the tomb of an Egyptian deity, but just one of the many ancient copper mines in the area.

Mount of the Cross

Deep in the Rhodope is one of Bulgaria's most famed religious sites, Krastova Gora, or Mount of the Cross. Since the early 1900s, people have been visiting the 1,413-metre-above-sea-level peak in the belief that a chunk of the Holy Cross was buried there and worked miracles.

Modern pilgrimage started in 1933 when a believer announced he had a dream that indicated a piece of the Holy Cross was buried in that hill. King Boris III himself donated the metal cross erected on the spot in 1936. The first chapel was built in 1956 but the site was later declared off-limits as it became a territory of a local hunting ground for senior Communist officials.

Pilgrimage resumed in the 1990s. The largest crowds arrive on 14 September, the Day of the Holy Cross. The belief is that if anyone sleeps under the open sky on that night they will be cured of illnesses.

The Seven Rila Lakes

Located at an altitude between 2,095 and 2,535 m above sea level, the Seven Rila Lakes rank among the best known tourist sites in Bulgaria. In August, however, the steady stream of visitors swells with a strange group of people. Clad in white, they make a beeline to one of the lakes, Babreka, or The Kidney. Once there, they start dancing in circles to lyrical, yet outdated tunes played on violin.

The Universal White Brotherhood is Bulgaria's best known esoteric movement. It was established by Petar Deunov (1864-1944) who proffered an occult mixture of ideas for soul, brain and heart development, and of body resuscitation, loosely based on Orthodox Christianity. He believed in reincarnation and considered the white race to be superior, the final "evolutionary" step before the attainment of a hypothetical "sixth," "supreme race." 

Deunov followers practise their faith by meeting, usually in open spaces and at sunrise, reading his works and dancing a circular dance he called Paneurhythmy. 

Their grandest meeting is on 19 August, or New Year's, according to Deunov, at The Kidney. Deunov considered that at this time of the year the Kidney was filled with divine energy, a vortex. During this sacred day, White Brotherhood followers from around the world dance the Paneurhythmy in the early hours of the morning to music composed by Deunov himself. 

Belintash

Bulgarians heard for the first time about Belintash, a plateau at an elevation of 1,225 metres above sea level in the Rhodope mountains, in the late 1990s when a group of psychics appeared on an esoteric show on the state-owned national television. The psychics said that during a night visit to the plateau to "soak" in cosmic energy they were disturbed by a group of "aggressive" extraterrestrial lights.

By the late 2000s, when Bulgaria's alternative tourism boomed, Belintash had become an established destination. Stories, legends and rumours about it are so many nowadays it is hard to keep track. Here are some of the juiciest. The rock-hewn canals and holes depict constellations. Huge faces are carved in the rocks. Alexander the Great's gold chariot is buried there. Vanga, the blind clairvoyant, had said that Belintash would reveal its secrets only after it took a certain amount of victims. 

Legends aside, Belintash is spectacular – a 300-metre tongue of precipitous rock stretches over thick fir forests, shielded from the outer world by a ring of peaks. According to archaeologists who partially explored the site, the first pilgrims arrived at Belintash about 5000 BC. The shrine was abandoned in the 4th century BC, but revived again around the 4th century AD. People used to visit in the Ottoman period as well, a tradition of continuity in sacredness typical for the Bulgarian lands.

Demir Baba Tekke

Demir Baba Tekke, or shrine, has the genuine aura of a place that people of different origin and faith have venerated for millennia as sacred, accumulating in the process a thick layer of buildings, artefacts, art, beliefs and traditions that are still alive today. It is one of the 140 cultural heritage sites in the Sboryanovo Archaeological Reserve, near Isperih. It is the only one that is still used for the same purpose since the time of its construction in the 16th century.

Demir Baba, or Iron Father, who was buried here, is the most honoured saint of the Alevi, an unorthodox Islamic group that reveals its teachings and practices to the initiated only. As an young man, the legend says, Demir Baba was a brave warrior who fought two dragons and helped the sultan conquer Budapest. He then returned to his native village and started to preach and help people. 

The belief in the saint's powers is still strong and attracts not only Alevi, but also Sunni Muslims and Christians. The biggest number of visitors gathers on 6 May, the holiday celebrated as Hıdırellez by Muslims and St George's Day by Christians. 

One of the testimonies for Demir Baba's powers is the karst spring by the compound's entrance. According to the legend, during an unprecedented drought people prayed to the saint for help. He put his hand into the rock and water spurted out. The spring is still not piped as the locals believe it is sacred. Those entering continue to observe the old ritual to take three sips from it and wash their faces. 

The shrine is full of pointers to a mix of religious traditions and superstitions. Towels, shirts and socks, left as gifts for answered prayers, cover the saint's grave. Colourful shreds of cloth decorate the trees around and the tomb's window bars, tied by people who believe this would bring them health. 

Mysterious ornaments cover the compound's southern wall: seven-pointed stars, hexagrams, a domed building. One stone attracts particular attention. With eyes shut and arms stretched, people try to reach it and poke into two holes known as the Eyes of the Witch. 

Demir Baba Tekke had been a sacred site long before Islam's arrival. A Thracian sanctuary existed here between the 4th century BC and the 2nd century AD. Its remains are still visible: the tomb was built right over the foundations and some of the original stones were incorporated into the walls of the Alevi shrine. 

Kribul

If you believe the tabloids, by Kribul, a mountain village near Gotse Delchev, "Granny Hava, the priestess of the Rhodope mountains," will take you on a steep "road of mystical healing" to the "Shrine of the Black Serpent." Then all your health-related problems will be over. Free of charge.

Thousands have believed the hype and have flocked to the 4th century BC Thracian megalithic shrine, creating business opportunities for locals with 4WDs.

Granny Hava brings people to the ancient megalithic shrine each day. The ritual includes praying to and calling the site's supernatural guardian, measuring the pilgrim's height with a red thread, climbing rocks and squeezing through fissures, lighting fire and a spell, uttered by Granny Hava: "So, be healthy!". At the end, the pilgrim must leave the site without looking back.

Some people have said that the shrine's guardian always watches the ritual in the shape of a large black hairy serpent that sometimes sports a spectacular beard, or under the guise of a man.

To the sceptical, Granny Hava's behaviour might appear bizarre. Anthropologists disagree. They think that the ritual performed by this petite old lady from a Bulgarian Muslim village is a distant echo of millennia-old pagan beliefs and magical practices for communication with the underworld, healing and spiritual rebirth.  

Rupite

Vanga, the blind clairvoyant that you already encountered several times in this article, had a thing for energy vortexes. She even settled in one: Rupite, in the caldera of Bulgaria's only (extinct) volcano, near Petrich, on the border with Greece.

Vanga (1911-1996) discovered her supernatural powers to predict the future and to heal in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Reportedly, by 1943 she was famous enough for Bulgarian King Boris III to consult her, only to hear a cryptic warning his death was imminent.

After 1944, the Communist authorities ostracised Vanga for her "dark superstitions." By the 1960s, however, the clairvoyant was already hired as... seer at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The feared State Security took over the management and entrance fees of the crowds of people who flocked to Vanga's house in Petrich. Top officials, Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev supposedly included, also consulted her.

When Communism collapsed, in 1989, Vanga became a star. The crowds grew bigger and national media eagerly reported her (sometimes accurate, sometimes not) predictions on the outcome of elections, Bulgaria's progress at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the world's future in general. Eventually, Vanga moved to Rupite, a place of lush Mediterranean greenery and steaming sulphur springs she claimed was a vortex, created after a volcano eruption destroyed an ancient city, Vesuvius and Pompeius style.

There, Vanga started on the project of her life: the construction of a church to St Petka of the Bulgarians. When she died, she was buried nearby. St Petka is now commonly known as "Vanga's church."

Today, Rupite is seldom quiet, frequented by visitors from Bulgaria and abroad. Believers claim they can feel the clairvoyant's presence.

The mineral springs continue to steam outside of the compound. Locals soak with relish in their muddy pools, seeking relief for a number of ailments. Nearby are the ruins of the recently discovered ancient city of Heraclea Sintica. Yes, Vanga was right: there was an ancient town at Rupite. However, Heraclea Sintica was not destroyed by the volcano's last eruption, as that took place 1,000,000 years ago.

Was Vanga a true seer? If yes, what powered her? People still argue. Believers claim she communicated with divine, otherworldly and/or extraterrestrial entities. Clerics assume that Satan used her to sow superstition and to lure people away from true belief. Sceptics point out that her incorrect predictions outnumber the correct ones, and explain her popularity with the strong tradition of so-called folklore Christianity in Bulgaria, which at the times of the atheistic Communist regime and post-Communist hardship fed the nation's need for spirituality.

Tatul

The Thracian rock sanctuary at Tatul in the Rhodopes is a major, and spectacular megalithic monument. A high rocky hill rises about 300 metres above ground, crowned by a 4.5-metre-high monolithic stone in the shape of a truncated pyramid. Into one of its sides a semi-circular niche gapes over a sarcophagus-like stone tomb. A second rectangular basin, resembling a sarcophagus, is carved out at the top of the pyramid.

The sanctuary appeared in the 2nd millennium BC. Here, according to modern myths, was buried none lesser than... Orpheus.

You might think of Orpheus solely as the musician from Greek mythology who, in his quest to bring his beloved Eurydice back to life, charmed the cold hearths of the lords of the dead. Some Bulgarian scholars, however, believe that he was a historical personality who became a legend after he revolutionised ancient Thracian religion. He inspired a group of selected few to switch from the old, traditional cult to Dionysus, the master of wine, dark passion, death and revival, to venerating Apollo, the god of light, knowledge, refined civilisation and enlightenment. The initiates in the Orphic rites would enjoy eternal bliss in the afterlife, rather than a meagre existence as sad shadows in the underworld.

This "revolution" did not go unpunished. According to myths, a group of female devotees to Dionysus killed and dismembered Orpheus.

Greek legends placed Orpheus's burial place on the island of Lesbos. In the 2000s, however, Bulgarians answered back – with the claim that Tatul was Orpheus's "genuine" tomb.

Tatul could be the burial place of Orpheus's head, proponents reason, as it is located in Thrace, the musician's birthplace. With its stone pyramid reaching up to the sky, it epitomises both darkness and light, of a Dionysus reborn as an Apollo – the core concept of Orphism. Moreover, ancient Thracians had the habit of dismembering their dead, just like the Bacchae had dismembered Orpheus.

Zlatolist

Reverend Stoyna (1888-1933) lost her eyesight after she caught smallpox as a young girl. In 1913, she settled in St George church in the village of Zlatolist, near today's Sandandski, and lived there until she died.

Pilgrims queue to pray at the spot, where Prepodobna Stoyna supposedly levitated on a regular basis. Some say that they can still feel her presence there

While Reverend Stoyna was alive, people would visit the small and insignificant Zlatolist to meet her at her tiny, crammed room at St George's choir balcony, seeking her "help, advice, consolation and absolution." She was particularly fond of children.

Ordinary people consider Reverend Stoyna a saint, but the Orthodox Church is far from happy. Members of the laity absolving sins is against the cannon, and the unusual behaviour of Reverend Stoyna, like her day-long meditations and occasional levitation, is interpreted as a demonic possession.

Nevertheless, people continue to visit. Pilgrims queue to step, barefoot, on a stone slab with a worn-out relief of a double-headed eagle. There, they pray to Reverend Stoyna and try to feel her presence. Then they tiptoe to the back of the church and climb up the rickety wooden stairs to the choir balcony and the dark, windowless cell where Reverend Stoyna lived.

Mementos of grateful visitors fill St George: dolls, baby clothes, flowers, reproductions of Reverend Stoyna only known portrait.

The church adds to the feeling of strangeness. Built in 1857 and painted in 1876, it is dark and half-dug in the ground, its naive murals seemingly paying the Devil as much respect as the saints.

The lush garden around St George is crammed with places one must see and rites one must perform: pray at Reverend Stoyna's grave, sit on the swing that hangs from a century-old plane tree, drop a coin in the sacred well.

After following all prescriptions pilgrims shake off the spiritual aura and immerse in more earthly pleasures like partaking of the excellent grilled meat and homemade Melnik wine sold outside. Combining the spiritual with the earthly has always been a part of the Bulgarian way of experiencing an energy vortex. Obviously, for the better.