Walking & conservation holiday in Bulgaria
| country: | Bulgaria |
| trip type: | Introductory walking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 5 Jul, 9 Aug, 30 Aug, 20 Sep |
| price: | From £599 (9 days) including flights from the UK, from £425 excluding flights. Local payment €110 |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Rodopi are the most extensive mountain range in Bulgaria, covering a vast area in the southern part of the country, and rolling on across the border into Greece.
A hauntingly beautiful and mysterious region, according to legend this was the home of Orpheus, and his spirit still seems to live on here in the music and culture of the local people.
Wherever you walk in the Rodopi you touch its past; amongst the hamlets and villages of stone and timber houses the rural way of life seems to have changed little over the last few hundred years.
Local people continue to maintain a traditional rural existence working the fields by hand and tending their livestock on the surrounding meadows and pastures. Until recently one of the least known and least visited corners of Europe, the Rodopi are internationally acknowledged for their unique flora and fauna. It is a remote refuge for many plants and animals that are now exceptionally rare, with some species of plants growing nowhere else in the world. Brown bears, wolves, wild cats and prolific bird life, including an extensive population of birds of prey, still find a safe haven amongst the ancient coniferous forests.
The aim is to see a wealth of unusual plants and animals in a range of habitats whilst on daywalks through a variety of landscapes, visiting timeless villages and several impressive caves on the way. There is also opportunity for sightseeing in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, as well as visiting the Asenova fortress and the Backovo Monastery, the second largest in the country.
A hauntingly beautiful and mysterious region, according to legend this was the home of Orpheus, and his spirit still seems to live on here in the music and culture of the local people.
Wherever you walk in the Rodopi you touch its past; amongst the hamlets and villages of stone and timber houses the rural way of life seems to have changed little over the last few hundred years.
Local people continue to maintain a traditional rural existence working the fields by hand and tending their livestock on the surrounding meadows and pastures. Until recently one of the least known and least visited corners of Europe, the Rodopi are internationally acknowledged for their unique flora and fauna. It is a remote refuge for many plants and animals that are now exceptionally rare, with some species of plants growing nowhere else in the world. Brown bears, wolves, wild cats and prolific bird life, including an extensive population of birds of prey, still find a safe haven amongst the ancient coniferous forests.
The aim is to see a wealth of unusual plants and animals in a range of habitats whilst on daywalks through a variety of landscapes, visiting timeless villages and several impressive caves on the way. There is also opportunity for sightseeing in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, as well as visiting the Asenova fortress and the Backovo Monastery, the second largest in the country.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly to Sofia. Transfer to the Gornovodenski Monastery. |
| Day 2: | Zaburdo walk. Drive via Bachkovo Monastery to Chudnite Mostove (The Wonderful Bridges), before walking to the hidden village of Zaburdo: transfer via Shiroka Luka to Yagodina village. |
| Day 3: | Trigrad Gorge. Walk down the gorge of the Chairska River, then drop down into the Trigrad Gorge and visit the “Devil’s Throat” cave. |
| Day 4: | Yagodina Cave walk. From the village of Zmeitsa we follow the line of an ancient Roman road through meadows, forests and fields before descending steeply into the Buinovo gorge to visit the Yagodina Cave. |
| Day 5: | Karabalkan walk. We walk amongst a succession of tiny hamlets and villages renowned for their picturesque traditional architecture. |
| Day 6: | Mt Durdaga walk. We walk around Mt. Durdaga through a variety of habitats with an extremely rich flora and fauna. |
| Day 7: | Sveti Ilia ridge walk. This walk affords panoramic views over Yagodina and most of the Rodopi. |
| Day 8: | Perelik Massif walk. Drive to Shiroka Luka then take a circular walk via Gela beneath the highest peaks of the Rodopi. We then transfer to Sofia for our last night. |
| Day 9: | Fly to London. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.award winner
This tourism business won an award in our 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical, Magazine of the Royal Geographical Societyhow this holiday makes a difference
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In order to preserve the area, our holidays have been developed to support the ongoing conservation programs in the region. These projects aim to establish new nature reserves and protected areas, sustain the traditional economy and develop low impact tourism that is ecologically sound.
At Madzharovo you will be guests of the local nature information and conservation centre, which operates in conjunction with the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. Part of the trip cost, US$150.00 is donated to support these projects, providing vitally needed funds to continue the important conservation of the area. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |