Bulgaria is a small European country with the captivating cities which have an interesting blend of history, art, nightlife, and nature. The country also hosts grand shorelines, beautiful churches, winter sports destinations and mesmerizing nature trails. The country was under strict communist regime until 1989 and it is slowly emerging as a promising tourist attraction. Here’s our pick of the top 5 things to see in Bulgaria.
1. Sunny Beach
Sunny Beach, a seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria is famous for its bar crawls, foam parties and daytime party boats. Nesebar is a historic site and one of the major seaside resorts near Sunny Beach. The vibrant happenings of Sunny Beach include International Folklore Festival, fashion shows, and various beach competitions. Tourists usually land at Burgas airport which is the nearest airport and lies about 25 Km from Sunny Beach.
2. Rose Valley
The picturesque Rose Valley is located near the town of Kazanlak. It produces 85% of the world’s rose oil. There’s a Festival of Roses in the town of Kazanlak each May and June. For over a month, everyone wakes up before dawn and participates in the customary rose picking process. The rose valley is about 264 Km from the capital Sofia. It will take 3-4 hours to travel by train.
3. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
This cross domed basilica was built as a tribute to the Russian soldiers who died in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, because of which Bulgaria was freed from the Ottomans. The interiors were designed with Italian marbles in different colours.
4. Pamporovo
This popular winter destination is situated at an elevation of 1650 meters above sea level. Visitors can enjoy Various fun activities like walking tours and rock climbing. Pamporovo is home to impressive caves like The Dyavolska Cave and the Yagodinska Cave. The distance between Sofia and Pamporovo is 238 Kms and it will take 4-5 hours if you are travelling by train or bus.
5. Vitosha
Vitosha mountain is famous for skiing in the winter and trekking in the summer. The mountain is situated only 10 km far from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, a rare sighting of abundant nature in such close city proximity (just about 54 Km from Sofia). There are great conditions for slalom and cross-country skiing and walking tours all through the mountain.
Which of these places will you visit? Or better yet, do you think you’ll visit them all?
