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Ahtopol
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For those in search of restful relaxation with few distractions, Ahtopol may be the answer. This small town is situated 87 km south-east of Bourgas, near the border with Turkey, at the foot of the Strandja mountains. The Ahtopol sea coast has the highest number of sunny and hot days during the summer. The town has a 2 km long beach covered with fine sand and the water tends to be warmer and more placid here.
The name of the town has been preserved since ancient times. It was built on the place of a Thracian settlement. The Romans called it Peronticus. The town was colonized in teh 6th century before Christ. The Byzantine leader Agaton restored the town after the barbarian invasions and gave it its own name Agatopolis - City of Happiness, which the Bulgarians took in turn. At the end of 14th century the Turks conquered it and called it Ahtenbolu. It was burnt down and devastated by sea pirates many times. In 1912 it was burnt down again. The present day town was built anew. There are remains of a fortress wall and a large wall mural featuring the founding of the First Bulgarian State in 681. The Assumption church, built in 1776 has interesting frescoes. There are the St. Yani Monastery and a fountain, where a Thracian horseman is painted.
Seven kilometers south of Ahtopol is Sinemorets, the last populated area before the border with Turkey. Five kilometers south of Ahtopol is the mouth of the river Veleka, the most beautiful and ecologically clean river along the Black Sea coast. The village of Kosti, famous for fire-dances, is situated close to the river mouth. The village of Varvara is 3 km to the north – a favourite place for divers, for it is full of stone cavities in the river banks and reefs of shells underwater.
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Albena
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One of the most marvellous resorts on the Black Sea Coast with a good location, ideal for light quality accommodation and with variety of amenities. Albena is the place where the sea meets the sand. Sports and recreational facilities, numerous entertainment spots, nightlife in bars and discos, conference halls, spa and beauty facilities - Albena has it all. Albena - a world of quality, service and value. Albena - a delight for all ages - a sandy beach, crystal sea, and, as much or as little action as you need, Albena has something for everyone.
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Balchik
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The ancient town of Balchik has a history spanning over 2,600 years. During that period it was known as the ancient Greek colony of Krouni, the Greek and subsequently Byzantine fortress of Dionyssopolis, mediaeval Bulgarian town Karvouna and the Ottoman and subsequently again Bulgarian town of Balchik. The town was named after the Boyar Balik who owned it and ruled over it. In the 1913-1940 periods Balchik was under Romanian rule. The 2,600 year old Balchik (formerly known as the city of Dionysos - Dionysopolis) is a small but very romantic Bulgarian seaside town. It is located partly on the sea shore and partly on the Dobroudzha and the Frangen plateau. The height varies from sea level to the level of the plateau and reaches up to 250 meters, hence its standing in tiers.
Today Balchik is a small but very romantic Bulgarian seaside town. With its white rocks, and houses standing in tiers, the pearl of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is a preferred place for rest and tourism by the people of art and culture, scientists and foreign visitors. With its narrow streets and picturesque landscape, the town is a living symbol of a peaceful world. The view of the town from the sea impressed the great Ovid, who exclaimed: "O white stone town, I salute thee for thy inimitable beauty!".
The beach strip reaches up to 30 kilometers in length, which is an important premise for the development of the region in the sphere of tourism and recreation. This area is extremely rich in mineral springs and underground waters, which are the main sources for the modern water-supply system with a capacity of 1000 liters per second. There is a big harbour used for medium–sized passenger and trade vessels.
The place is famous mainly for its exotic botanical garden - the biggest and most diverse in the Balkans. Flowers and trees from the Mediterranean islands, the Pacific Ocean, the Black Sea, South Asia, and America delight the visitor. The garden is a “residence” of about 3,000 spieces (over 250 of which are cactuses), set up between waterfalls, streams and ornamental canals.
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Bansko
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Bansko is located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains and right below the Pirin National Park, included in the List of World Nature Heritage. The town itself attracts visitors with its 120 cultural monuments, its museum-houses and the permanent ethnographic and Bansko school of icon painting exhibitions. A very interesting sight is the Hoyl Trinity Church, with its 30 m high bell-tower and clock, splendid murals and woodcarvings. The region is famous for its cuisine and colorful folklore and offers various entertainment opportunities.
Fortified houses made of stone appeared in Bansko during the early National Revival period. By the end of the 17th century, they had become two-storey houses, although they still adhered to mediaeval building traditions. The typical Pirin stone house has two faces - one is a stone facade facing the street, the other an open verandah leading to the three-sided inner courtyard, flanked by the building itself. Small, almost invisible doors set into the walls link the adjoining houses. In certain respects the architecture resembles monastery construction - carefully joined stone masonry, few and small gritted windows, framed with decorative bricks. The general appearance of the houses is quite stern and austere, and only the spacious verandahs with their carved columns and railings provide some interplay of light and color.
The newest Bulgarian ski centre is also a door to the alpine peaks and unspoiled nature of the Pirin Mountains. The resort is situated in southwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of one of the most beautiful Bulgarian mountains ranges - Pirin. The distance from Sofia to Bansko is 160 km.
The two major ski regions of Bansko - the lower called Chalin Valog (1,100 - 1,600 m) and the higher called Shiligarnika (1,700 - 2,500 m) - are situated above the town, on the northern slopes of the Pirin Mountains. Slalom and giant slalom runs are available in the Shiligarnika region. The third ski region is Banderishka Polyana. But transport to the ski runs is provided. The most suitable nursery slopes are around the Motikata Restaurant, a short distance from the town of Bansko.Nursery slopes are available in the region of Chalin Valog, and in the region of Shiligarnika. Bansko offers a cross-country track with a total length of 5 km at a height of 1,530 m above sea level at the Banderishka Polyana slope a 3 km ski-run Rollbahn track is situated 2 km from the town at 1,050 m above sea level.
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Belogradchik
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Belogradchik is picturesquely spread over the western part of the Balkan Range, at 545 m above the sea level. Well laid out, and welcoming, Belogradchik is one of the most attractive national tourism sites of Bulgaria. The unique nature and rich history make it one of the most interesting and desirable tourist attractions.
The region is studded with lots of underground and ground karst forms - caves, vertical slopes etc. More than 100 caves have been discovered and completely or partially explored in the Belogradchik region so far. Most of them are rich in beautiful secondary formations - stalactites, stalagmites, stalagtons, cave pearls, "cave milk". The precipices are a challenge for the devoted admirers. The water caves are of special interest. Great parts of them have not been properly studied.
The so called “Pearl in the Crown" is the Magura Cave. It is near the village of Rabisha, 25km northwest of the town of Belogradchik. The cave is hollowed out in the Rabisha hill (461m above sea level). It is a small monocline, which is part of the Belogradchik anticline. The cave formation started 15 million years ago. The Torton River hollowed out in the limestone strata impressive halls and galleries.The total length of the galleries, discovered up to now, exceeds 2,000 m. There is a good asphalt road to the Magura Cave. It is one of the first well laid out caves in Bulgaria -with lighting, paths, and safeguard fittings. The cave and its surrounding area have been declared a National Tourist Sight.
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Borovets
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Borovets is the oldest international and most popular mountain resort in Bulgaria. It is located at 1350 above the sea level (with highest pistes at 2600 m), on the Northern slopes of Rila mountain among age-old pine woods, at the foot of Mousala peak (2925 m) the highest one on the Balkan peninsula. Borovets is easily accessible, being at a distance of only 70 km from Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria) and 126 km from Plovdiv.
The nearest town is Samokov (10 km from the resort). Borovets was developed into a modern ski resort of high class with restaurants, discos, shops and a good choice of pistes and lifts. Borovets is a resort of Alpine type and provides very good conditions for snowsports durng the winter: skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ski jumps and biathlon, ski-doo, ice-skating in the resort, etc.
The resort has twice hosted World Cup competitions in Alpine skiing. Its biathlon track is one of the best in Europe. Usually the slopes of Borovets have snow cover from mid December till April.
The air in Borovets is clear, free of any pollutants. The average temperature during the coldest month January is - 4.6 °C.
There are available ski runs for beginners, intermediates and advanced skiers, designed with international markings and multilingual signs. Pistes are bashed and maintained to the high standard.
The ski runs of Borovets are located in three different regions. Cross-country and biathlon tracks are located 2 km away from the resort together with the cross-country tuition tracks. Borovets ski centre is serviced by well organised lift system, inclusive Gondola lift.
8 snow cannons for artificial snow are installed to guarantee the snow cover if needed. Read more about this facility here. The Borovets ski school has been known as one of the best in Bulgaria. There are more than 200 ski instructors fluent in foreign languages and some of them are former professional skiers.
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Bourgas
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The city is a starting point for visiting the seaside resorts in the area - Sunny Beach resort and Elenite holiday village to the north and Duni holiday village, renowned for its unique architectural composition, to the south. The port of Bourgas is the biggest Bulgarian sea port.
Bourgas is more than two thousand years old. It was founded as a Roman settlement under the name of Kulata. The first books about its history are found with the Byzantian poet Manuel Phill (13th c). Later additional data was provided by the Turkish historian Hadji Kalfa (17th c). He gave the town two different names - Bourgos and Pirgos. The name of the town is derived from the Greek words "pirgos" or "bourgos", meaning fortress, or tower, provoked by the numerous fishing towers - "bourgs" in the vicinity. In the Turkish register from 1676 the settlement was entered as a town for the first time, and later in another document from 1730 - as the port of Bourgas. Burnt down in the 19th century, it was brought back to life again and turned into an important administrative, economic and cultural centre of Bulgaria.
Today Bourgas is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria.The climate here is temperately continental with a distinct impact from the Black Sea. A Duty Free Zone was established in 1989 with the objective of creating most attractive conditions for foreign investors. The favourable geographical location and advanced transport infrastructure of Bourgas are good prerequisites for development of tourism and trade. What most attracts people here is undoubtedly the sea.
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Dryanovo
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The town of Dryanovo is amphiteatrically situated along the two banks of the Dryanovska River, a right tributary to the Yantra River. It lies 22 km. from the city of Gabrovo with its ethnographical sites, 24 km. from the Medieval capital of Bulgaria- Veliko Turnovo, 17 km. from the town of Tryavna, famous for its architectural ensembles and 34 km. from the town of Sevlievo.
The settlement is mentioned as a fortress on the Strinava Plateau by Byzantine chroniclers in 1186 for the first time in relation to the Uprising led by the members of the Assen dynasty (1185 - 1187). It is mentioned under the name of Diranav (Diranava) in a Turkish register of 1430.
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Dunes
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The Dunes Holiday Village is a modern, comfortable and attractive sea resort situated amidst a fine nature reserve. It has been awarded the international Blue Flag Award for clean and safe environment. The bay is naturally sheltered against northern winds, making it an ideal place for all kinds of water sports. The sea is safe and calm, with a gradually slopping bottom, enabling even small children to splash about safely in the water.
The resort consists of three originally designed main zones, forming separate architectural ensembles with their own characteristic style and atmosphere-Zalenika, Marina and Pelican. Dunes Holiday Villge incorporates several deluxe restaurants and taverns, small cosy beach restaurants, day bars, night clubs and cafes, 7 tennis courts, swimming pools for adults and children, sports grounds, bicycles and cars for rent, a kindergarten and specially equipped playgrounds.
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Elena
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Elena is an old settlement founded in the 15th C. In the 18th-19th centuries it is established as a crafts, trade and educational centre. There have been preserved several architectural ensembles dating back to the Bulgarian National Revival and comprising about 130 old houses. Wall-to-wall construction forms interesting street silhouettes. The houses have stone basements with white-washed or wooden walls of the upper floor with protruding bays above.
There have been preserved the first class school, founded in 1848 and named Daskalolivnitsa where future teachers have been educated (nowadays a museum exhibition is arranged), St. Nicholas Church (16th C., with valuable mural paintings, icons) and the three-naved Church of the Assumption, built entirely of stone (1837). On the highest elevation the town clock-tower (1812) raises with an antique clock mechanism.
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Elenite
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The modern resort of Elenite is situated 5km east of Sunny Beach, and 50km north of Bourgas. The nearest village is Vlas.
The place was uninhabited by the time of the construction of the resort's facilities, which started in 1985.
Besides the must-see old town of Nessebar, situated to the south of Elenite, the Emine cape to the north - which together with Kaliakra is the most popular Bulgarian Black Sea cape among visitors - is also a beautiful sight.
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Golden Sands
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The resort is the largest one on the Northern Black Sea coast (more than 1,800 hectares). It is 17 kilometers from Varna. Golden Sands is a magnificent resort with richly wooded hills, a white golden beach and clear blue sea. There are a lot of very famous and ancient mineral water springs. The resort is situated in the area, which is a Bulgarian National park. The resort's beach strip is 3.5 km. long and up to 100m wide. The average air temperature in summer is 27-30 degree and the water temperature is 25-28 degrees. Golden Sands suits both sun-worshippers and sightseers, being near to Varna, the third largest town of Bulgaria, the pearl of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast with a great number of places of interest.
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Kiten
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Kiten is a small town, situated 45 km south of Bourgas. It is only a few kilometers from Primorsko and MMC resorts. It was founded in 1931 by fugitives from Greece and immigrants from the surrounding villages. Since 1970, Kiten has been developing as an attractive centre for many tourists. Nowadays Kiten is a prosperous modern tourist village with a number of private lodgings, cosy hotels, restaurants, snack-bars, discos, and an amusement park with water slides and playgrounds. The north beach, called Atliman with a calm and clean sea is covered with fine golden sand.
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Koprivshtitsa
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Sunshine colours and romance are what characterise the typical 19th century atmosphere preserved and lingering in Koprivshtitsa. Every single house here is part of Bulgaria's history. It was here that the first shot of the April Uprising against Ottom | |
