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Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains

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Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains Includes ¨ Why Go? Rila Mountains ..... 323 Spectacular mountains encircle spiritual sights in this Rila Monastery ..... 324 swathe of inland Bulgaria. Europe’s oldest continuously in- Pirin Mountains .... 329 habited city, Plovdiv anchors the region. Roman ruins and a Blagoevgrad ....... 329 sparkling artistic quarter provide a thrilling backdrop to the city’s calendar of festivals, which brims ahead of its reign as Bansko ........... 332 European Capital of Culture 2019. Melnik .............337 Quiet winemaking villages snooze in Plovdiv’s surrounds, Bulgarian Thrace ... 339 while the Rodopi Mountains reach south, dotted with ski Plovdiv ............ 339 centres such as Pamporovo. To the west lie the Rila Moun- Rodopi Mountains .. 352 tains, home to a monastery that is a spiritual lighthouse for all of Bulgaria. Perhaps most spectacular is the Pirin Moun- Smolyan .......... 355 tain range, which grumbles south of student-filled Blago- Devin ..............357 evgrad. High-octane Bansko is the region’s leading ski and snowboard spot, but in spring and summer Pirin National Park comes to the fore: its hiking trails weave between gem- Best Places to Eat blue lakes, and up to arid peaks such as Mt Vihren. ¨ Hemingway (p349) ¨ Mehana Chavkova Kâshta (p339) ¨ Hebros Restaurant (p348) When to Go ¨ Mehana Dedo Pene Plovdiv (p336) °C/°F Te mp Rainfall inches/mm 40/104 5/125 ¨ Restaurant Bulgare 30/86 4/100 (p329) 20/68 3/75 10/50 2/50 Best Places 0/32 1/25 to Sleep -10/14 0 ¨ Todoroff Wine & Spa (p353) J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨ Kosovo Houses (p353) May & Jun Hiking Sep & Oct Sa- Jan & Feb Ski by ¨ At Renaissance Square among spring vouring wines in day and party by (p347) flowers in Rila and temperate Thrace, night on a winter ¨ Villa Stresov (p328) Pirin, or enjoying or autumnal spa break in Bansko or ¨ Hostel Old Plovdiv (p347) jazz or folk festi- bliss in the Rodopi Pamporovo. vals in Plovdiv. Mountains. ¨ Hotel Rojena (p338) 322 S S S MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN SOUTHERN SOUTHERN SOUTHERN THE THE THE & & & PLOVDIV PLOVDIV PLOVDIV hts LIG H HIG S AIN T MOUN N R E TH SOU E TH & Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains Highlights 1 Rila Monastery (p324) sashaying into the Kapana 4 Melnik (p337) Peering 6 Historic Thrace (p339) to reach inky blue lakes and Standing awestruck among quarter’s arty nightlife. at strange sandstone pillars Road tripping among wineries, mysterious forests. beautiful frescoes in a 3 Skiing in Bansko (p334) while sipping famous wines. ancient fortresses and 8 Rocky Rodopis (p352) millennium-old monastery. Thundering down pistes at 5 Devin’s Spas (p357) enigmatic ruins. Walking amid surreal rock 2 Plovdiv (p339) Admiring Bulgaria’s premier winter- Sliding into silky spa waters in 7 Seven Rila Lakes (p328) formations or touring caves. Roman ruins and by day, then sports town. this fragrant town. Hiking wild mountain passes Sliven SOFIA CENTRAL BULGARIA Vitosha Karlovo Pernik Nature Park Kazânlâk Mt Cherni S Lake r e d Yambol Zemen Vrâh Iskâr n a (2290m) Nova Zagora Ihtiman G o r a Stara Zagora Dupnitsa Borovets Kostenets Kyustendil Klisura Septemvri Gyueshovo Malîovitsa M Seven Rila i l a o u n Lakes R t a Kiril i n Pazardzhik Chirpan Mt Musala s Plovdiv Gulubovo Meadow (2925m) Rila Rila 8602 86 Dimitrovgrad Monastery Velingrad Peshtera Brestovitsa Topolovgrad Blagoevgrad Hrabrino Avramovo Batak Perushtitsa Asenovgrad Stanke Hizha Lake Predel Rakitovo Haskovo Lisichkovo Razlog Batak Thrace P Bachkovo Harmanli i Monastery r Bansko R E79 i o Hizha n Dobrinishte d Teheran Zabardo Hizha Vihren o Mt Vihren p Kukuvitsa Svilengrad TURKEY Popina Lûka i Chepelare (2914m) Kovachevitsa T H R A C E Hizha Yane M Devin Pamporovo Ormenio Edirne Dospat Smolyan Kârdzhali Kapitan- MACEDONIA Sandanski o Yagodina Shiroka Banite Andreevo u Lûka Lakes Ardino n Marchevo Trigrad Golubovitsa Cave Madzharovo Sandanski Rozhen t Smolyan Monastery a Gotse Rodopi Momchilgrad i Delchev Mountains Uhlovitsa Strumica Melnik n Madan Ivailovgrad s Cave Petrovo Mt Golyam M Zlatarevo Mogilitsa o u Perelik (2190m) n t a i n s 0 50 km Petrich Kulata GREECE 0 30 miles.
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