Croatia
Slovenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Albania
Montenegro
Romania
Bulgaria
Serbia
North Macedonia
KosovoThe Rose Festival in Bulgaria
Visit the Bulgaria Rose Festival 2025
A day tour to the stunning
Rose Valley in Kazanlak, Bulgaria
- Local guide who will explain all traditions
- Comfortable air-conditioned transport
- Private and group tour options available
Price: Starting from 110 EUR
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Top rated on TripAdvisor
Bulgaria has a long history of harvesting roses and the annual Rose Festival is a colorful, fragrant celebration of this age-old tradition and the Rosa Damascena itself! Join us for an experience that brings you closer to Bulgarian culture, history, and the stunning beauty of the rose fields in the Valley of Roses.
The Rose Festival in Kazanlak takes place from late May to mid-June each year with the peak events happening in the first weekend of June. The program is rich in concerts, bazaars, fireworks, wine tasting, rose-picking rituals, parades, and lots more happening in and near Kazanlak.
This year the main days of the 122nd Rose Festival are from June 6th to 8th 2025. We’ll travel together into the Valley of the Roses, Bulgaria’s flower-harvesting heartland, and there we will explore the history of the nation’s rose tradition.
Choose to attend the Festival of Roses as a day tour with a private group of up to 7 people, a larger group day tour, or as a part of your longer itinerary across Bulgaria or the Balkans. You can also select which exact day of the Festival to attend depending on the event’s program.
Tour Details
- Festival dates: June 6th to 8th 2025
- Location: Kazanlak, Bulgaria
- Meeting Point: Your hotel (for private tours), Alexander Nevski Cathedral (for group tours)
- Tour Duration: 8 hours
- Price for private tours: Starting from 280 EUR per vehicle
- Price for group tours: 110 EUR per person
- Transportation: Private transfer with a car, minivan, or bus (for group tours)
- Tour Type: Historical, cultural, and local insights tour
Highlights
- Visit the rose fields, with the chance to harvest your own blooms;
- Take part in the colorful festival itself;
- Watch the Carnival Parade which includes dances, traditions, and many surprises;
- Learn more about Rosa Damascena, rose oil, and rose water production;
- Try the delicious liquor, jam, and cosmetic products, all made of Bulgarian roses;
- See the extraordinary Buzludzha Monument or explore the “Damascena” Ethnographic Complex.
Official Program of the Kazanlak Rose Festival 2025
June 6th (Friday)
- 17:00 – International Folklore Festival 2025
- 20:30 – Opening ceremony and coronation of Queen Rose 2025
- 21:30 – Open air concert
June 7th (Saturday)
- 9:30 – Rose-picking rituals in villages near Kazanlak
- 11:00 – Rose boiling ritual at the Rose Museum
- 12:00 – Competitive exhibition of Bulgarian bread and other dishes
- 20:30 – Open air concert
June 8th (Sunday)
- 10:00 – Rose-picking rituals in villages near Kazanlak
- 12:00 – Carnival parade in the city center
- 20:00 – Official closing of the Rose Festival 2025
- 20:30 – Open air concert
Day Trip Options for the Festival of Roses
Private Tours from Sofia to Kazanlak
| Number of people | What’s Included | Price per Vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 people | Rose Festival | 280 EUR |
| Up to 7 people | Rose Festival | 430 EUR |
| Up to 3 people | Rose festival plus Buzludzha Monument or “Damascena” Complex | 340 EUR |
| Up to 7 people | Rose festival plus Buzludzha Monument or “Damascena” Complex | 490 EUR |
- English-speaking private guide;
- Private vehicle and transport costs included;
- Flexible schedule;
- Pickup at your accommodation;
- Possible add-ons: Buzludzha Monument, “Damascena” Ethnographic Complex.
Note: Entry fees are not included. We will give you the final price after you tell us the size of your private group.
Add more to your Rose Festival experience:
- Buzludzha Monument – a striking UFO-shaped monument which is one of Bulgaria’s most fascinating historical landmarks
- “Damascena” Ethnographic Complex – a beautifully designed private distillery with rose gardens, and a cultural center.
Group Tours from Sofia to Kazanlak
| Rose Festival Day | What’s Included | Price per Person |
|---|---|---|
| June 7th (Saturday) | Rose-picking ritual, Rose Museum, and Craft street | 110 EUR |
| June 8th (Sunday) | Rose-picking ritual, Carnival parade, and Craft street | 110 EUR |
- Entry fees included;
- English-speaking tour leader;
- Start: early departure, exact time to be confirmed;
- End: 6 pm (the group leaves Kazanlak at 3 pm)
- Pickup: Alexander Nevski Cathedral
Note: The group tour will occur if at least 5 people are gathered. If a group has not been formed, we will inform you a week before the trip.
Let’s Plan Your Adventure to the Valley of Roses
With music and dance, food and drinks aplenty, a visit to the Rose Festival makes a fantastic day out for the whole family. Send us your details to receive a custom quote.
A Word from Previous Visitors of the Rose Festival
We are a group of 12 people from Singapore who want an own planned itinerary during the Rose festival in end May to 2nd June.
Adriana found 2 very experienced tour guide & drivers – Kiril and Simeon to drive us in 2 separate vans.
Kiril is fun and experienced tour guide with added advantage of being from Plovdiv, his knowledge about the places we went are excellent and professional.
Simeon is a walking historian who is passionate to share the history of the old city and he grew up in Rose Valley where this is an added advantage to us who are Rose and essential oils lovers visiting Rose festival.
We had an amazing 5 days in Bulgaria with these 2 tour guides. They are fun!
History and Traditions of the Rose Festival in Kazanlak
The festival dates back to 1903 when locals first organized a public celebration of the rose harvest. Over time, it grew into an internationally recognized event, attracting visitors from all over the world. Bulgaria has been cultivating roses for perfume production since the 17th century, and Kazanlak became the heart of this industry. The region’s unique climate and soil conditions make its rose oil among the finest in the world, historically sought after by major perfume houses.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, rose growers and distillers would gather in the rose fields in early June to perform rituals believed to ensure a bountiful harvest. These gatherings often involved music, dance, and communal feasts, laying the foundation for what would later become the modern festival. During the Bulgarian National Revival period, when Bulgarian identity and culture were flourishing despite Ottoman rule, the cultivation of roses became a symbol of national pride.
The festival evolved significantly over the 20th century, gaining national and later international recognition. Initially a local event, it gradually attracted participants from across Bulgaria. In the 1960s, it was formally organized by the municipality of Kazanlak, and the tradition of selecting a Rose Queen was introduced, adding an element of pageantry to the celebrations. By the late 20th century, the festival had become a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world.
Today, the Rose Festival is one of Bulgaria’s most iconic cultural events. The Valley of Roses produces around 70% of the world’s rose oil, and the festival serves as a tribute to the generations of farmers who have preserved this centuries-old craft. While the event has grown in scale, incorporating modern attractions and performances, it remains deeply rooted in tradition, celebrating the enduring legacy of Bulgaria’s famous Rosa Damascena.
Read more about the festival
The Rose Museum in Kazanlak
During our tours to the Rose Valley and the Rose Festival, we can visit the Rose Museum in Kazanlak. It has a rich collection of objects, pictures, and documents that reveal the history of Bulgarian oleaginous – roses growing.
The exhibits are located in 14 niches. They showcase the rich tradition of Bulgarian rose production and export of rose oil, as well as instruments used for processing rose gardens and containers for storing rose oil and rose water.
In the middle of the museum space, you can see primitive and authentic rose distilleries. During the months when the roses are blooming (May and June), you can enjoy the production of rose water and become a part of the process.
The Rose Festival in Karlovo
Karlovo is a town with a long history of Bulgarian rose oil production. The first weeks of June is the period of traditional gathering, people celebrate the Rose Festival on the field that abounds in roses. The town itself is replete with rose wreaths, and streets, windows, and balconies are colorfully adorned with roses galore. Smiling girls and boys walk in the streets, baskets in hand filled with roses that they hand to passers-by, inviting them to join the celebrations. Nowadays the Rose Festival in Karlovo welcomes people with a plethora of folklore songs and dancing. The Rose Queen has been elected since 1990.
The rose fields are increasingly expanded, and new rose sorts are created providing higher yields. The Bulgarian rose oil is exported to cosmetics companies. In Karlovo, it is used to produce a number of cosmetic products at the “Bulgarian Rose” company.
The festival of Roses is one of the most important feasts in the municipality of Karlovo, dedicated to the beauty, the flowers the spring, and the fragrance of the invaluable Roses of Karlovo.
On the feast day, the town is filled with beauty, high spirits, dancers, songs, and the lovely aroma of Her Majesty the Rose. The festival starts with the ritual of rose picking in the rose fields outside Karlovo. It is an authentic dance coming from the past with the participation of amateur folklore performers from Karlovo municipality. Lovely melodies of bagpipers’ orchestra are heard and people are welcomed with ritual bread and a bunch of roses and wild geranium. The Kukeri dances create liveliness in the alley where the pavilions with local crafts and rose products are presented.
