Nebet tepe is one of the favorite destinations both for tourists and for Plovdivians, who climb on the top of the Old Town for a beautiful view, tranquility over the city or just coolness. The reason that this is the thousand-year-old heart of Plovdiv, however, is the opposite - the difficult access to it, which allowed the first "Plovdivians" to live there securely. Later, the peak would be named "Nebet" or a watchtower because of its inaccessibility.
Today the situation is different - several approaches on streets or stairways and walkways can take us to the top of the hilltop. The eternal stones of the hill, however, keep the memory of these more difficult approaches with the scariest staircase of Plovdiv on the northern slope of Nebet Tepe.
This is the part that is least visited - and logically, as it is the steepest, there is hardly any infrastructure. The bravest Plovdivians or guests, however, can enjoy these terrible stairs - whether dare to climb them or just look at them from afar.
The staircase was cut into the rocks thousands of years ago. One of the versions is that centuries ago, Maritsa River had passed several hundred meters to the south and washed the shores of Nebet Tepe, approximately where Sixth September Blvd is now. The staircase was used by the inhabitants of the fortress to descend to the river. It is very likely that it was in some use during the Roman time, too, because after it there is a tunnel under the fortress wall, which we can still pass today (if we don’t mind the junk and the smell). Cutting the stairs out, however, may have happened earlier in history.
Today, the area is overgrown with vegetation and buried in junk. To climb the stairs, you need sturdy and stable shoes, dry weather and lots of courage. Our recommendation is not to risk it, but to enjoy the unusual scary stairs from afar - one view is from the fortress wall - or from the end of the small tunnel and the other good viewpoint - from the opposite sidewalk on Sixth September Blvd. But getting to know the scariest staircase in Plovdiv is definitely worth it.