BULGARIA · THE BALKANS
Painted monasteries, high peaks, a warm sea.
Bulgaria runs from the ski slopes of Rila and Pirin to the beaches of the Black Sea, by way of Sofia, Plovdiv, the wine roads and the old painted churches.
Only in Bulgaria
Three experiences Bulgaria keeps to itself.
Ski runs, city walks and wine tastings turn up all over Europe. A staircase of glacial lakes, a Cold War still standing, and a forest of red stone towers do not. Start the trip with the three that are pure Bulgaria.
High in the Rila
The Seven Rila Lakes
A staircase of seven glacial lakes strung up one Rila ridge, each with its own name and shape: the Tear, the Eye, the Kidney, the Twin. A chairlift carries you to the trailhead and the loop climbs past every one. Each August the white-robed Danov brotherhood gathers on the slopes to dance the Paneurhythmy. There is nowhere else in Europe quite like it.
- 1 Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia
- 2 7 Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery Tour
- 3 The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery
The recent past
Communist-Era Bulgaria
Bulgaria was the Eastern Bloc's most loyal satellite, and the evidence is still standing. Ride a Soviet-built Trabant past Sofia's monuments, read the underpass murals, and hear what life behind the Iron Curtain was actually like from the people who lived it. The concrete flying saucer of Buzludzha waits at the end of the story.
- 1 Communist Walking Tour of Sofia
- 2 Sofia Communist History 2-Hour Tour in a Classic Trabant
- 3 Sofia Food & Tasting Tour with Communist-Era Tram Ride
The wild northwest
The Belogradchik Rocks
Out in Bulgaria's far northwest, towers of red sandstone rise a hundred metres straight out of the forest, shaped over millions of years into figures the locals have named: the Horseman, the Madonna, the Schoolgirl. A fortress was cut into the rock by the Romans and later held by the Ottomans. These formations climb this one corner of the Balkan range and nowhere else on earth.
- 1 Full-Day Belogradchik Rocks and Belogradchik Fortress from Sofia
- 2 Belogradchik Full-day Tour from Sofia
- 3 Balloon Flight over Belogradchik Rocks + extras
Start here
If you only book one day, book this one.
The single most-booked day in Bulgaria, and the easiest one to build a first trip around.
The favourites
Bulgaria's Most Popular Tours
Rila Monastery, the Sofia walking tours, Plovdiv and the wine country. What most travellers book first.
When to come
A different country every season.
Few places do winter, spring, summer and autumn equally well. Bulgaria does. Pick the season and the trip half plans itself.
By region
Pick where in Bulgaria to start.
Sofia for the cathedrals and the day trips. Plovdiv for the Roman city. Veliko Tarnovo for the medieval walls. The Black Sea for the beaches. Bansko and Borovets for the mountains.
By experience
Or pick the kind of trip you want.
Rila Monastery if you want the icon. Skis if it's winter. The Rila lakes if you want the high mountains. Wine, caves, communist history, the Black Sea and the rest.
The old south
Plovdiv, and what's around it.
Eight thousand years of city stacked on three hills, a Roman theatre still staging shows, with Asen's Fortress and Bachkovo Monastery an easy hop beyond. The three we would put first.
The capital on foot
A morning walking Sofia.
Roman ruins under the metro, the gold domes of Alexander Nevsky, a yellow-brick boulevard and a mineral spring you can still fill a bottle at. Three walks worth the morning.
Underground
Bulgaria below the surface.
Vast Devetashka, the prehistoric paint at Magura, and the eye-shaped roof of Prohodna. Some of the country's strangest half-days, and the easiest way to beat a hot afternoon.
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