The only rock-hewn church open to the public is the church of Archangel Michael. By visiting on a Sunday I found that there were a number of other visitors climbing the steep path up to the cave entrance, but only a few were admitted at a time.

The colours of the ancient frescoes on the walls and ceiling are still vivid.

I reached the site by train from Ruse to Ivanovo, from where it was a 5km walk down into the gorge of the Lom River to the site.