PROGRAMME OF THE TOUR

Day 1, 7 June
09:00 Departure from Sofia
12:30 Arrival in the town of Kazanlak, accommodation in the hotel and lunch
14:30 Visit of the Thracian Tomb
16:00 Visit of the Rose Museum
20:00 Dinner in a folk-style restaurant
Overnight

Day 2, 8 June
09:00 Departure from Kazanlak
09:30 Visit of Koprinka dam
11:00 Visit of Jrebchevo dam
Lunch en-route
15:00 Visit of Kamchia dam
17:30 Arrival in the town of Nessebar, accommodation in the hotel
20:00 Dinner in the Old Town
Overnight

Day 3, 9 June
10:00 Tour of the sights of Nessebar
12:00 Lunch
15:00 Arrival in Varna, accommodation in the hotel and free time
20:00 Dinner in a fish restaurant
Overnight

Day 4, 10 June
10:00 Visit of the city sights
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Departure for the town of Balchik
14:30 Visit of the The Palace – the formal summer residence of the Romanian queen Maria and the botanical garden.
20:00 Dinner in Varna
Overnight

Day 5, 11 June
09:00 Departure from Varna
12:00 Arrival in the town of Veliko Tarnovo and lunch
13:30 Visit of the city sights and the Tzarevetz Hill
16:00 Departure for Sofia

The city of Kazanlak is situated in the pretty Valley of Roses and Thracian Kings, hidden on the southern skirts of Balkan Mountains Range. No one knows when the first settlement has appeared here, but we know for sure that it was connected to oleaginous rose bushes growing in close surroundings. Later, the ancient Thracian city of Sevtopolis was founded and developed for few centuries nearby. The Thracians discovered the wonder-working properties of ethereal rose oil about 5000 years ago. And it was them who started to make it. The stones they used still preserve the stunning smell. On the international market the Rose Oil is sometimes more expensive than gold. Many royal Thracian tombs are scattered nearby Kazanlak. One of them is included in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List for its wonderful murals. It will be visited during the tour.

Koprinka dam, 44 m high rock masonry-rock fill dam with crest length 835 m, reservoir capacity 140.106 m³, year of completion 1955.

Jrebchevo dam is of earth fill, high 53 m, with crown length 795 m and reservoir capacity 400.106 m³, completed in 1970. It is on the river Tundja, built for irrigation, also with a power plant. The spillway for 1000 m³/sec is furnished with 5 weirs.

Kamchia dam, 78 m high rockfill dam with crest length 740 m, reservoir capacity 235.106m³, year of completion 1974. It was constructed for water-supplying of the towns of Varna, Burgas and the South Blacksea coast.

Nessebar is among the oldest towns in Europe and the richest in Bulgaria for its architectural medieval monuments. Situated on a small Black Sea peninsula the town is the successor of the ancient Thracian settlement of Messambrija, founded in the 2nd millennium BC. In 1983 it was listed in the UNESCO list of the world cultural heritage. Today it is an exclusively attractive resort town.

Varna is the sea capital of Bulgaria, the third biggest city in the country. The area was inhabited since 7th millennium BC (about 8000 years already), but the city was founded by Greek colonists in 6th century BC. Ever since Varna was an important Black Sea port and fortress. There are many interesting places to visit in Varna, such as the remains of a luxury Roman bath, or Aladja Monastery carved in the nearby Rocks, or unique natural rock phenomenon called Pobiti Kamani.

The small city of Balchik is situated to the north of the city of Varna. The Thracians founded it in the centuries BC, later Greek colonists came and settled on the coast too. In the 1st century AD Roman writer Publii Ovidii Nason sent “Greetings to white stonewalls of Dionysus’s city”. Much later in the very beginning of 20th century Romanian Queen Maria fall in love with this area and built here a romantic palace, summer residence with wonderful garden which nowadays owns the second biggest cactus collection in the world.

Veliko Tarnovo is the medieval capital of Bulgaria (1187 – 1393). Looked at from above it is charmingly beautiful standing on its three hills on the banks of Yantra River. But coming closer the visitor feels like bowing to its imperious grandeur and invincible power. The first fortification was built by the Thracians in the 1st millennium BC. Conquering the peninsula, the Roman Empire built a large road and amplified the fortress. Later it was conquered by Bulgarians and in 12th century was declared its capital (4th in a row). One can judge about splendid beauty and richness of Bulgarian medieval court looking at Patriarchal Cathedral towered like blessing over the city. Close by the fortress stands the Saint 40 Martyrs Church which turned to be a pantheon of Bulgarian medieval emperors.