We only stayed in Bulgaria for another four days, but perhaps these were the most rewarding.
Our next stop was to Bulgaria’s second biggest city, Plovdiv. set on the plains in between the mountain ranges of the country, it was very hot here during our visit.
It’s full of history; Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and there is also a very well preserved old town with many beautiful National Revival buildings. I take back what I said about the buildings of Koprivshtitsa being the most impressive, the ones in Plovdiv are even more splendid.
It was very quiet here, not many tourists about which was a surprise, but we really enjoyed the few hours we spent here.
From there, we headed south and back up again into the mountains (the Rodopi range), some 30 mins away from Plovdiv, and camped up for the night near Bachkovo, the place with the second most important monastery in the country.
We got to the monastery the next morning relatively early but the place was rammed. Suddenly the penny dropped, it was 15th August. This day might not mean much to my UK friends but in most of Europe, especially in the Catholic & Orthodox faiths, this is a very important religious day, the Assumption of Mary (into heaven).
This monastery being dedicated to the Virgin, attracted—quite normally—hundreds of worshippers to come and pray here on this auspicious day. Well it added to the fun, and it’s good to see the place being used as it should be, there were hardly any casual tourists (like us) about.
It really is a fantastic place and the amazing frescos inside covered every inch of the walls and ceiling.
We left the pilgrims to it and made our way back down to Plovdiv to fill up our gas bottles—for 1/10th of the UK price. We then continued on west to the Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia.
For Sofia, after considering what was to be seen there, we decided not to visit the city. The place was heavily bombed in WWII and was then rebuilt in the communist concrete style, it didn’t tickle our fancy.
Anyway, we headed to Rila for a few reasons but the main one was to walk the seven lakes trail, a very popular one with Bulgarians and one of the prettiest too.
We camped up at the bottom of the mountain, met some very friendly locals, and the following morning drove up to the car park and took a twenty minute chair lift up to start the trail. It’s a fairly circular walk, to take in five of the seven lakes, with a dog leg up to see the other two, from which you can then see six of the lakes in one go.
As with all the high alpine walks we’ve done, they have always been some of our favourite times and this was no exception. The weather wasn’t as sunny as we would have liked, but then again it’s easier to climb up mountains without sweating profusely, although we only ascended 400m—up to nearly 2500m—so it wasn’t that tough.
It was very busy with lots of people enjoying the day walk, but also lots and lots of tents— probably over a hundred—scattered around one of the huts.
The view from the top over the lakes was just awesome, even with a chilly wind, it was a wonderful place to enjoy our lunch.
We made our way back down, camped at the same spot for the night and the following day, drove around the mountain to Rila Monastery, the most renowned in the country and which was vital for keeping the Bulgarian language and culture alive during Ottoman oppression.
Just like Bachkovo, it’s a stunning example of National Revival and the frescos that cover the whole of the interior and exterior are sublime works of art, depicting not just the usual godly virtues but also the fight for liberation from Ottoman rule. We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was actually quite dark in there, unlike Bachkovo.
After a little time, we carried on south to Melnik situated at the bottom of the Pirin mountain range, not far from the Greek border. It’s a place renowned for wine growing.
The village itself is rather small and has been turned into a little slice of tourism, full of eateries, guest houses and wine shops, even so, it was very quiet, hardly anybody around. A cute place, the walk up and down the main street didn’t last long and so we continued up the mountain for another ten minutes or so and found a fantastic place to camp up for our last night in Bulgaria, near a small monastery which has amazing views and fresh water.
Well that was that for Bulgaria and the next morning we crossed the border into Greece and drove to Thessaloniki.
Bulgaria was interesting, but perhaps not quite as much as other countries we’ve seen, however the wild camping spots we found and the availability of fresh water has been the best.
Plovdiv
Bachkovo Monastery
Seven Lakes Walk
Rila Monastery
Melnik
Our next stop was to Bulgaria’s second biggest city, Plovdiv. set on the plains in between the mountain ranges of the country, it was very hot here during our visit.
It’s full of history; Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and there is also a very well preserved old town with many beautiful National Revival buildings. I take back what I said about the buildings of Koprivshtitsa being the most impressive, the ones in Plovdiv are even more splendid.
It was very quiet here, not many tourists about which was a surprise, but we really enjoyed the few hours we spent here.
From there, we headed south and back up again into the mountains (the Rodopi range), some 30 mins away from Plovdiv, and camped up for the night near Bachkovo, the place with the second most important monastery in the country.
We got to the monastery the next morning relatively early but the place was rammed. Suddenly the penny dropped, it was 15th August. This day might not mean much to my UK friends but in most of Europe, especially in the Catholic & Orthodox faiths, this is a very important religious day, the Assumption of Mary (into heaven).
This monastery being dedicated to the Virgin, attracted—quite normally—hundreds of worshippers to come and pray here on this auspicious day. Well it added to the fun, and it’s good to see the place being used as it should be, there were hardly any casual tourists (like us) about.
It really is a fantastic place and the amazing frescos inside covered every inch of the walls and ceiling.
We left the pilgrims to it and made our way back down to Plovdiv to fill up our gas bottles—for 1/10th of the UK price. We then continued on west to the Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia.
For Sofia, after considering what was to be seen there, we decided not to visit the city. The place was heavily bombed in WWII and was then rebuilt in the communist concrete style, it didn’t tickle our fancy.
Anyway, we headed to Rila for a few reasons but the main one was to walk the seven lakes trail, a very popular one with Bulgarians and one of the prettiest too.
We camped up at the bottom of the mountain, met some very friendly locals, and the following morning drove up to the car park and took a twenty minute chair lift up to start the trail. It’s a fairly circular walk, to take in five of the seven lakes, with a dog leg up to see the other two, from which you can then see six of the lakes in one go.
As with all the high alpine walks we’ve done, they have always been some of our favourite times and this was no exception. The weather wasn’t as sunny as we would have liked, but then again it’s easier to climb up mountains without sweating profusely, although we only ascended 400m—up to nearly 2500m—so it wasn’t that tough.
It was very busy with lots of people enjoying the day walk, but also lots and lots of tents— probably over a hundred—scattered around one of the huts.
The view from the top over the lakes was just awesome, even with a chilly wind, it was a wonderful place to enjoy our lunch.
We made our way back down, camped at the same spot for the night and the following day, drove around the mountain to Rila Monastery, the most renowned in the country and which was vital for keeping the Bulgarian language and culture alive during Ottoman oppression.
Just like Bachkovo, it’s a stunning example of National Revival and the frescos that cover the whole of the interior and exterior are sublime works of art, depicting not just the usual godly virtues but also the fight for liberation from Ottoman rule. We couldn't take pictures inside, but it was actually quite dark in there, unlike Bachkovo.
After a little time, we carried on south to Melnik situated at the bottom of the Pirin mountain range, not far from the Greek border. It’s a place renowned for wine growing.
The village itself is rather small and has been turned into a little slice of tourism, full of eateries, guest houses and wine shops, even so, it was very quiet, hardly anybody around. A cute place, the walk up and down the main street didn’t last long and so we continued up the mountain for another ten minutes or so and found a fantastic place to camp up for our last night in Bulgaria, near a small monastery which has amazing views and fresh water.
Well that was that for Bulgaria and the next morning we crossed the border into Greece and drove to Thessaloniki.
Bulgaria was interesting, but perhaps not quite as much as other countries we’ve seen, however the wild camping spots we found and the availability of fresh water has been the best.
Plovdiv
Bachkovo Monastery
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| Busy Busy! |
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| People cueing under the gazibos |
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| Some blessing with herbs... |
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| The cue from outside leads to the icon of the Virgin Mary Eleusa |
Seven Lakes Walk
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| Up we go! |
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| We're off |
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| Lake 1 |
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| Lake 2 |
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| Lake 4 |
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| Little break on the way up to the sixth lake |
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| Lunch stop, not a bad view! |
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| Six of the Seven Lakes |
Rila Monastery
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| Where's the road gone! |
Melnik
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| Our last night in Bulgaria |
