Official NSI EKATTE settlement record

Yabalkovets (Ябълковец)

Village in Ardino municipality, Kardzhali province.

Find this settlement on a map

Official settlement reference location (latitude, longitude; WGS84): 41.602426, 25.190609.

Source: NSI EKATTE spatial register, version 2025.1 ↗, reference date 31 December 2025. This is a geographic reference point, not a verified street address, road access, parcel boundary or proof of local services.

Registered addresses, 15 September 2026

1,092 people registered at a permanent address; 395 at a current address; 354 with both addresses in this settlement.

These GRAO administrative registrations are not an estimate of physically present residents and are different from NSI statistical population. Official GRAO September 2026 table ↗.

Verified administrative facts

Bulgarian name: Ябълковец
EKATTE code: 87059
Settlement classification: Village
Municipality: Ardino (Ардино) (KRZ02)
Province: Kardzhali (Кърджали) (KRZ)
Official elevation band (EKATTE): 700–999 m Settlement classification band, not a plot survey

Research healthcare, transport and utilities

These are research sources, not verified services at this address. A municipality-level provider list does not prove that any particular village has a GP, railway stop, bus, mains water or functioning electrical connection.

Doctors and healthcare: NHIF official contracted medical practitioners search ↗ and UK-to-Bulgaria healthcare guide. Search by the appropriate municipality or province; verify practice locations, new-patient acceptance and opening hours directly.
Trains: Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) current journey planner ↗. Check the nearest station and date of travel. A listed municipality does not mean your village has a station.
Local buses and roads: ask the municipality or transport operator for current routes, stops and winter schedules. Transport research checklist.
Electricity: ERM West ↗, Elektrorazpredelenie Yug ↗, and Electrodistribution North ↗. Identify the actual network operator and obtain written connection conditions for the cadastral plot. Read the rural utilities guide.
Water, wastewater and waste collection: ask the serving water company and municipality for specific connection feasibility, metering, drainage and collection arrangements. Do not infer that a neighbouring house has the same services.

Official sources checked 17 October 2026; individual providers, routes, opening hours and services are not yet locally verified. How to verify before buying ↗

Mayoralty area recorded by NSI

This settlement is the recorded mayoralty centre.

Official area code: KRZ02-30
Recorded centre: Yabalkovets (Ябълковец) · View centre settlement

This describes the NSI EKATTE administrative grouping, not a verified staffed office, postal address or present-day service availability. Confirm which office handles your enquiry with the municipality.

Municipality contacts for local enquiries

Responsible municipality: Ardino (Ардино) (KRZ02).

Published municipal website: https://www.ardino.bg/.

Published email: info@ardino.bg (inbox receipt untested).

Ask the municipality about local administrative enquiries, building-permit procedures and council services. This is a municipality-level contact, not proof of a local office, healthcare provider, bus connection, utility connection or accessible service in this village.

Contact source captured 2026-10-17. Details can change; confirm with the authority before travel or sending personal information. Published authority source ↗

Village population at 31 December 2025

256 residents in total, comprising 135 male and 121 female residents.

Source: Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, settlement population by sex (2025) ↗. This is a dated official statistical figure, not a live headcount.

Nearby places and administrative centre

The administrative centre of this municipality is Ardino (Ардино), 5.2 km in a straight line from the settlement reference point.

Five geographically closest other officially recorded settlements within the same province:

Chervena skala (Червена скала) (1.4 km straight-line)
Chubrika (Чубрика) (2.1 km straight-line)
Hromitsa (Хромица) (2.3 km straight-line)
Bogatino (Богатино) (2.6 km straight-line)
Mlechino (Млечино) (2.9 km straight-line)

Distances use official NSI 2025.1 settlement reference coordinates and a straight-line calculation. They are not road distances, journey times, accessible routes, evidence of shops or medical services, or parcel locations. A place in a neighbouring province may be closer than those listed. Official NSI spatial data ↗.

Local landscape and terrain

Village in mountainous or rugged surroundings. Approximate elevation at the settlement reference point: 747 m; sampled heights across a roughly 4 km area: 530–959 m.

Приблизителен релеф: планински или пресечен. Надморска височина в точката: 747 м; изследван диапазон: 530–959 м.

Derived from Mapzen open elevation tiles around the official NSI settlement point, not an official land-use or mountain-region designation. This does not establish road access, vegetation, water, flood risk or property-level slope. Elevation source ↗; Attribution ↗.

Woodland, farmland and nearby land cover

The largest mapped category around this settlement is tree-covered land.

2021 satellite sample: tree-covered land 79.6%; grassland 20.4%.

Най-големият установен клас земна покривка в околността е територии с дървесна растителност. Проби от 2021 г.: територии с дървесна растителност 79.6%; тревни площи 20.4%.

ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m pixels), sampled at 49 positions across roughly 3 km by 3 km around the official NSI settlement point. Percentages describe the sampled points, not exact area shares, and are not a 2026 survey. This does not establish land ownership, farming permissions, planning zones, business activity, current vegetation or conditions of any property. ESA WorldCover source ↗; Dataset and citation ↗.

Businesses, shopping and everyday services

Locality: Yabalkovets (Ябълковец) · Ardino (Ардино) · Kardzhali (Кърджали).

We found 1 mapped research record associated with this settlement. These are possible local businesses and facilities, not a verified inventory of operating premises. The mapping method cannot prove that a feature is within the village or town boundary.

Mapped categories include: 1 × Hotel.

Named mapped leads worth checking

Planinski izgled (Планински изглед) · Hotel (Хотел) · View mapped source ↗

Other settlements in Ardino municipality with mapped leads

These locations are separate villages or towns, not services confirmed in Yabalkovets. Check local roads and transport before making plans.

Ardino (Ардино) · 9 mapped records
Gorno Prahovo (Горно Прахово) · 1 mapped record
Borovitsa (Боровица) · 1 mapped record
Lyubino (Любино) · 1 mapped record

Browse mapped businesses for this settlement · Search Google Maps for local services ↗ · Municipality services and settlements

Evidence: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0), 19 October 2026 research snapshot. Attribution and licence ↗. Mapped names, service classifications and associations are unverified leads. No opening hours or active-business status is asserted. Suggest a correction.

How this place compares within its municipality

The 2025 NSI statistical population is 256 residents. Among the 51 settlements in Ardino municipality with published numeric totals, this is rank 11 by population (counting joint ranks for equal totals). This is a settlement-size comparison, not a judgement about amenities or quality of life.

Comparable settlements in this municipality (NSI 2025):

What the physical geography means when researching property

The sampled surrounding terrain is mountainous or rugged; terrain elevation is approximately 747 metres at the official settlement coordinate. ESA WorldCover maps the largest share of sampled surrounding locations as tree-covered land.

If considering woodland-adjacent property, check legally protected trees, access and official wildfire mapping. Satellite tree cover is not evidence of a specific restriction.
Inspect actual approach roads in winter conditions and obtain a parcel-level assessment of slope, retaining structures and drainage.

These are research prompts derived from mapped evidence, not findings about a particular road, property, business or planning decision. A village can vary considerably from its sampled surroundings.

Based on the NSI statistical settlement population at 31 December 2025, NSI EKATTE identities, Mapzen/Tilezen terrain samples and ESA WorldCover 2021 land-cover samples. Analysis assembled 20 October 2026 by PluginPip Ltd. These sources do not prove current local services or property permissions. NSI population ↗; Terrain data ↗; ESA land-cover data ↗. Suggest a correction.

What still needs local verification

Current residents, local shops, water and electricity connections, school and medical services, road condition, mobile coverage, property prices and local flood risk are not verified for this settlement. Check each at the address and with the relevant municipality or service provider.

Plan a useful visit

Check travel time and public transport to the municipal centre.
Ask about year-round food shopping and healthcare.
Check the exact plot identifier, road access and utility availability.
Visit in different weather and speak with local residents.

Browse municipality settlements · Browse the province · How to research a village

Source: NSI official EKATTE 2025 administrative register. Population figures are deliberately omitted until matched to a dated NSI population record for this exact EKATTE identity. This profile combines official settlement evidence and satellite-derived landscape analysis; operational local services and individual property conditions still require independent checking.