Rupite (, ) is a village which includes a small mountainous protected area in the southeastern part of Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria, 10-12 kilometres northeast of Petrich, inside Petrich Municipality, on the right bank of the Struma River. It is best known as the place where the Bulgarian medium Baba Vanga lived and was buried. The area is in fact the crater of an extinct volcano, its appearance being shaped by the volcanic hill of Kozhuh, the thermal springs and Pchelina Hill. The village has 1,124 inhabitants. Rupite is a protected area, which is situated at a distance of about 10 km from Petrich and 2 km from the village of Rupite, at the eastern foot of the extinct volcano Kozhuh Mountain (281 meters altitude). The hill was built by volcanic rocks. Its name comes from the fact that it looks like a mantle (kozhuh in Bulgarian). In 1962 a part of the locality of Kozhuh – 0.4 hectares – was declared a natural landmark. The protected area of Rupite is famous for its healing mineral springs with a temperature of 74° C and capacity of up to 35 L/sec. The climate in the locality is transitional-Mediterranean, which is a reason for the presence of Mediterranean grass vegetation and some thermoliphic animal species. The natural by-river forest consists mainly of White Poplar (Populus Alba). The protected areas of Rupite and Kozhuh Mountain are homes to various snake species. Here you can see the relatively rare species – Cat Snake (Telescopus fallax). There are 201 bird species in the Rupite area, including various Mediterranean species, which can rarely be seen in other places in our country. Via Aristotelis passes through this area. This is one of the two basic bird migration routes through the territory of the country. In the region visitors can see species, such as the Large Olive Warbler (Нippolais Olivetorum), White-headed Shrike (Lanius nubicus) and Black-headed Shrike (Lanius minor). During the migration and the wintering period here stays the globally endangered species Small Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus). The remains of an ancient town, existing within the period from 4th century BC to the 6th century AD are located along the south slopes and at the foot of the volcanic hill Kozhuh. According to explorers, this was the main town of the Thracian tribe Sints – Heraclea Sintica. The memorial temple “St. Petka of Bulgaria”, built in 1994 is situated in