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About thirty kilometers from the city of Kardzhali, in a northwesterly direction, just above the Kardzhali Dam, is nestled at the foot of the eastern slope of Bezdiven Peak, the small Rhodope village of Nenkovo, where just over 100 people live and which seems to have frozen in time. But few people know that before reaching the village (about 700 meters south of it), on the left side of the road, which winds parallel to the Borovitsa River (whose old name is Chamdere, is 42 km long and is a left tributary of the Arda River, flowing into the Kardzhali Dam), a stone bridge (similar to the well-known Devil's Bridge near the village of Dyadovtsi, Ardino municipality) almost imperceptibly appears before the eyes of travelers, connecting the two banks of the Borovitsa River, just before the village of Nenkovo, magnetic, impressive with its beauty, but also as if cut off from time and forgotten like the village itself.
The bridge impresses with its grand dimensions and asymmetrical stonework. The bridge lies on one of the most important routes, which during the 18th century passed through the Eastern Rhodopes and connected Plovdiv to Komotini, while passing through Asenovgrad, Kardzhali, Momchilgrad and the Makaza Pass. The route of the path passes through very difficult mountain terrain, passes the steep shores of the Arda River and her tributaries, the rivers Varbitsa, Borovitsa, Krumovitsa, Byala River and others.
Reaching the village Nenkovo, the route of the road requires crossing the river Borovitsa, whose bed is too wide, which is too full during snowmelt and heavy rains. This is also the reason why the route of the road crosses the river on a multi-arched bridge. Three openings and one relief have been preserved from the bridge. It is obstructed by deposits of gravel carried by the river, preventing the determination of the height of the arches or the visibility of the foundations of the piers. Its length is 59 meters, and the width of the roadway is 2.90 meters. It is constructed of rough river stone bonded with mortar. Only the friezes above the openings are made of dressed stone. The pavement is cobblestone. In the upper part of the frieze, on the central opening, the year of construction is inscribed in Arabic numerals.
The numerals are carved on the surface of a stone located on the northern side of the bridge,
to the left of the keystone. The inscribed year is 1195, which corresponds to 1780–1781 in the current calendar. On the side frieze of the smallest preserved opening, two handprints are engraved. It is believed that this might be the "signature" left by the anonymous builder. (Alexander Antonov, Stone Bridges in Bulgaria, 15th–20th Century, 2019, p. 128–130))
There are local legends suggesting that gold was buried in the foundations of the bridge, and
parts of the stones in its base were excavated by people searching for treasure. Its eastern and western sections have been rebuilt and repaired in modern times due to such intrusions and the river’s strong currents during flood seasons.
The small Rhodope village of Nenkovo seems frozen in time, with its tranquility and serenity, inhabited by a few remaining but friendly elderly residents who live a life outside of the usual passage of time, connected to the land and nature. But walking through its narrow cobblestone streets, between old stone houses with tile roofs hiding stories of lives lived in the past century, one is enchanted by the preserved quiet and mystical atmosphere of this place. Contributing to this unique charm is the fact that the village's only connection to the outside world is a rope bridge at its entrance.This bridge resembles, in design, , the well-known rope bridge (over the Varbitsa River)
Lisitsite village, Kardzhali municipality (located on one bank of the Studen Kladenets Reservoir),
though it is smaller in scale.
To reach the stone bridge near the village of Nenkovo, starting from Kardzhali, in the
direction of the Kardzhali Reservoir, the route passes through the village of Sredinka, then continues through the villages of Enchetz, Zelenikovo, Blenika, Penyovo, Dazhdovnitsa, and Padartsi. The route passes thourgh some of the most beautiful views of the Kardzhali Reservoir, as well as the valley of the Borovitsa River and the vivid green peaks of Bezdiven (1,140 m), Radimar, and Chilyaka (1,459 m). Shortly after the village of Dazhdovnitsa, even from the asphalt road, at one of the bends, there is a view of the carved rock niches located high up on the inaccessible vertical cliffs. After Padartsi, the route passes near the pleasant Borovitsa Lodge, and 5 kilometers south of Nenkovo, on the right side of the road, there is a sign for the Utroba Cave..
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