More about the landmarks you will visit during the 10-day Bulgaria Tour

Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia welcomes as the capital of the country, located in the valley of the same name, framed by mountains rising majestically a short distance around. The Vitosha mountain is the most popular spot for outings and winter sports. It rises to the south of Sofia, and its peak Cherni Vruh is a popular target for avid hikers. The other mountainous hills belong to the Balkan Range, to the north, and the Lyulin Mountain, to the west. Another peculiarity of the terrain is the combination of four Iskar river terraces which are the site of location of the capital.

Diversity is further added by the Iskar River which has two tributaries, Perlovska and Vladayska, and the mineral springs in several spots, in the Ovcha Kupel, Gorna Banya, Knyazhevo, and Pancharevo. The conditions in and around Sofia offer opportunities for diverse activities, hiking, winter sports, spa treatment, and touring the city’s sights and landmarks.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

For comfortable vacations, Plovdiv offers upscale accommodation with diverse facilities and creature comforts. Touring the city enriches everyone. History and modern life are intertwined, and concomitantly with the hurried pace of life archeological monuments reveal the city’s rich millennial past. The temples of Plovdiv, its museums, and the old city part are grounds to immerse in to feel its past and learn about the life and culture of those distant times.

For fans of art, Plovdiv extends unique opportunities. It has been a center for icon painting since the Middle Ages. Renowned icon painters and painters worked here. The city’s art gallery boasts masterpieces. A separate exhibition offers a collection of icons. There is even an exhibition of Mexican art, gifted to the city on the occasion of Bulgaria’s 1,300th anniversary, in 1981.

After touring, it is time to sit in a local eatery to delight in scrumptious Bulgarian cuisine.

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Fans of learning lots about history and culture will have a busy time in Veliko Turnovo. It is a town where the old part abounds in historical buildings, areas, and nooks. There are a lot of churches, several of which are cultural monuments. The most renowned of those churches is the Saints Holy Martyrs, which is near the Tsarevets fortress.

In the past, different saints’ relics were brought to Veliko Turnovo and stayed for different periods. Nowadays Saint Mina’s relics are kept in a private chapel, and Saint Ivan Rilski’s relics are kept in the Nativity Cathedral. There are also miracle-working icons in the nearby village of Arbanasi, just a couple of kilometers away.

The natural landscapes which unfold to the eyes are worth photographing, as they blend the greenery of the surrounding hills and, the glimmer of the Yantra River’s water. Nature and history lend Veliko Turnovo outstanding appeal.

Kovachevitsa, Bulgaria

In the region of Blagoevgrad, in southwest Bulgaria, lies the Kovachevitsa village. The mountainous area of the west Rhodope lends its charm to the locality. The nearest town is Gotse Delchev, 24 kilometers away. Kovachevitsa is also 5 kilometers away from the Gorno Dryanovo village.  The Kanina River flows through the valley, supplying water to the arable land.

The true charm and attractiveness of Kovachevitsa are due to its authentic look preserved since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The houses in the village are almost entirely made of stone, and it is interesting that the roofs are from stone slabs too. Only the highest houses have their last stories made of wood. Kovachevitsa is an architectural reserve, boasting the beauty of Revival period architecture which must be seen to understand what masters lived in the Revival period and how durable their houses are, standing now firm and impressive with their peculiar style.

Leshten, Bulgaria

The village of Leshten is ancient, with well-preserved old-style houses. It is one of the gems of architecture in southwest Bulgaria, in the Blagoevgrad region. Information on it was included in ethnographic materials in the nineteenth century, and its appeal due to the architecture of the village houses was underscored.

Many of the old houses in Leshten have been restored. The restorative works have been conducted carefully, taking account of the old style, and endeavoring to preserve it in the best shape. Many such restored houses have become rest homes, and tourists willing to get first-hand information on the village’s architectural preciousness are welcomed.

Owing to the unique style of the village, with its authentic houses that retain the spirit of past times, Leshten is often chosen for filming by directors shooting feature films. For music videos, the charm of Leshten is also a great backdrop.

Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria

The Seven Rila Lakes, in the heart of the Rila mountain, are among the numerous water features of this treasure trove of pine trees, rivulets, streams, and ponds. They are of glacial origin. The area of the lakes is famed for its stern beauty, adorned by the seven expanses of clear mountain water. The area of the lakes rightly belongs in the list of the one hundred most precious sites in Bulgaria. The height of the lake area is between 2,100 and 2,500 meters above sea level.

The levels of the lakes descend in a terrace-like manner. They are ponds in the mountain folds, interrelated by small brooks. The passages are more picturesque in places where the brooks form fountains and tiny waterfalls. The lakes’ names are characteristic,and  related to the peculiarity of each lake. For example, the highest lake is called “Sulzata” (“Tear”) owing to its marvelously transparent water.

Melnik, Bulgaria

Melnik, a tiny town, is of enormous interest, for diverse reasons and features. Its history is abundant, shown in the town’s historical museum. There everyone can learn how the main livelihood of the area developed: wine making is a staple trade thanks to the unique qualities of Melnik vines. Wine cellars, casks, and tools for processing and storing the famed Melnik wine are exhibited in the museum. People can also see how locals’ lives developed in the Revival period. For visiting the museum, every day is good, it does not have a day off.

The Kordopulova house, bearing the name of its former owner, an affluent Greek merchant, was built in 1754. There the huge barrels of Melnik wine can be seen. The exhibition containing the barrels and illustrating wine storage is in the shape of a tunnel into the rock. The internal architecture is fascinating, with murals, woodcarvings, and stained glass ornaments.

Rila Monastery, Bulgaria

Rila Monastery is a unique place, not only owing to its beautiful complex and the captivating surrounding mountainous area. Its history is rich and ancient, and it even has the statute of a separate settlement, although its inhabitants number just 58.

Eminent personalities were buried in the Rila Monastery. One of them was the Bulgarian tsar Boris the Third. James Bourchier, a British journalist and correspondent during Ottoman times, was buried by the entrance to the monastery. The local ruler Hrelyo who contributed a lot to the monastery and its renovation, was also laid to rest in the monastery, in the church built with his sponsorship.

The altitude of the monastery complex is 1,147 meters. Around rise verdant coniferous forests which send a fresh scent of mountain air. The main building’s walls rise to 24 meters and give the complex the look of a fortress shaped like an irregular pentagon.

Rozhen Monastery, Bulgaria

The Rozhen Monastery was first mentioned in part of a Greek manuscript in the thirteenth century. The exact date of its founding is not known. The initial complex was destroyed, then rebuilt later, in the sixteenth century. The main church, the dining hall, and some residential buildings date from that century.

The final church decoration was finished in 1732. In the nineteenth century, it was a thriving center of religious and spiritual value. The monastery owned a lot of land plots around.

Nowadays the monastery is open throughout the year. Visitors see the complex which has the shape of an irregular hexagon. The church is in the middle. The murals are sixteenth-century murals and depict the miracles done by Christ after the resurrection. The iconostasis is a magnificent one, with flower bouquets pictured and carved figures. In the northwest part of the church is a chapel with eighteenth-century murals.