The Cultural capital of Europe and the Oldest city in Europe
We will pick you up from your hotel/accommodation in Sofia at 9:00. When you pack , the tour will start and we will head toward one of the most popular scenic moto roads in Bulgaria. After a couple of hours, we will reach our first stop, where you will have a guided visit of an architect reserve, bringing you back in the 19th century's atmosphere. There you will learn a lots of history about the Bulgarian revival period and the struggle for independence from the Ottoman empire.
We will continue after that towards Starosel. The region there is related to the mysterious civilization of the Thracians, lived on these land between The Bronze Age and IV century AD. There are some interesting religious and burial complexes left by them in the area. We can visit one of the biggest – Starosel complex. The group will have a guided visit to it.
Another couple of hours of riding will take us to our final destination for the day – Plovdiv. The afternoon we will spend exploring this very ancient city, considered to be one of the oldest in Europe. It is holding heritage from all historical periods. We will visit the famous Roman theatre and the Roman stadium, the oldest Mosque on the Balkans and the Bulgarian 19th century houses. The overnight i» scheduled to be in the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2019. The evening you can spend in the area called "The trap", full of small craft restaurants and bars.
Riding time for the day approximately 4 hours / ~220 km.
Recommended 3* centrally located hotel
After breakfast, we will start our journey south, deep in the Rhodope Mountain. Our first stop will be at a fortress from the medieval times, built on the top of the cliff. Climbing some stairs will give you the opportunity to admire a great view.
Also, we will see a very well preserved church from the 12th century. Our next visit will be at the second biggest monastery in Bulgaria, built in the 11th century by two brothers from Georgia.
Later in the day, we will pass the famous Trigrad gorge. After a visit of interesting, beautiful and full of legends cave – The Devil’s throat we will check in a hotel in Trigrad and enjoy traditional Bulgarian hospitality and cuisine.
Riding time for the day approximately 3 hours / ~120 km.
Recommended 3* hotel
This day will give us the pleasure to enjoy peaceful secondary roads, surrounded by the beauty of our nature. We will pass around water reservoirs, rivers and mountain passes. Our final destination will be a region, called the Bulgarian Tuscany. This is our most famous wine region and the nature also helps a lot with the nickname. We will pay a visit to one of the very good Bulgarian wineries – Villa Melnik. We can organize a visit to the cellar with wine tasting. Also, their shop can supply you with provisions for the rest of the trip. We will overnight in Melnik.
Riding time for the day approximately 3 hours / ~170 km.
Recommended 3* hotel
After breakfast, you will have a guided tour of the smallest town in Bulgaria. You will visit a wealthy 18th-century Bulgarian house, owned by a family, involved in the wine trade at that time. They were exporting wine for Venice and importing the famous glass in the Ottoman empire. We will walk around the medieval remains of Melnik and will ride to a nearby monastery, situated in that beautiful place for around 1000 years.
After that our riding will begin. We will pass another nice river gorge – Kresna and will head toward Bansko area. This is the biggest ski resort in Bulgaria. We will visit the old historical part and if you have the strength we can ride to the hut, below the highest peak - Vihren. From there we can make a nice walk and see three natural lakes.
In the evening we will check in a local house in a village nearby, where you will have typical Bulgarian homemade dinner and you will be introduced to the Bulgarian songs, dances and spirit drinks.
Riding time for the day approximately 3 hours / ~120 km.
Local guest house
This is our last day. After breakfast, we will start our journey back to Sofia. We will pass around the highest mountain on the Balkan peninsula - Rila. We will stop to visit a UNESCO site - Rila monastery. The biggest and the most important monastery in Bulgaria. After the guided tour of the place, we will have lunch in a restaurant nearby, where you can try fresh trout fish, typical for the region. After an hour and a half ride, we will be back in Sofia.
Riding time for the day approximately 3 hours / ~140 km.
Fully refundable until 2 days before start
Non-refundable after 2 days before start
