Category: Ancient Civilizations Route

Near Lake Varna is a nearly 7,000-year-old cemetery that is considered one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world. Worked metals of copper and gold, obsidian glass, ceramics, and jewelry representing an ancient prehistoric culture called the "Varna [...]

To the north of the Balkan Mountains, there is an area of sloping hills extending for about 100 km to the Danube River. In this area lived the Getae Thracians – Dacian tribes. One of their centers was the sacred [...]

Begliktash is a huge megalithic site near the Black Sea, considered the oldest megalithic site in Europe and one of the most impressive. The place was already sacred in prehistoric times, though some archaeologists claim it is “only” from the [...]

Near the city of Haskovo, in the heart of the Thracian plain, is a Thracian temple-tomb from the 4th century BC. It is a World Heritage Site due to the importance of the unique paintings found there, among them a [...]

The Maritza River, which begins in the Rila Mountains, flows northeast and then southeast toward the Mediterranean Sea for 500 km. Along its course, it passes through fertile valleys where the main cities of Bulgaria are located, including Svilengrad, which [...]

Deaf Stones - (Gluhite Kamani)This is the easternmost megalithic site in the Rhodope Mountains, and one of the most beautiful among them, known as “The Deaf Stones.” It features hundreds of trapezoidal niches engraved and carved into giant rocks tens [...]

Dolni Glavanak Stone CircleIn the Eastern Rhodope region, within the drainage basin of the Arda River, lies the only free-standing stone circle discovered so far in Bulgaria. One of the defining characteristics of megalithic cultures across the world is the [...]

About 20 km from the city of Kardzhali lies one of the most mysterious sites in the Rhodope Mountains—a place considered to be the tomb of Orpheus: an ancient, giant megalith that resembles a human head when viewed from the [...]

Not far from Tatul, near the village of Raven, on top of a high rocky saddle surrounded by forests, lies another ancient and mysterious megalithic complex. Here, you can find two sunken rocky plazas with carved grooves, surrounded by stones and [...]

Yagodina and Trigrad CanyonsIn the Rhodope Mountains, there are several mighty canyons with caves, flowing water, waterfalls, and rock walls that are a paradise for mountaineers. Yagodina is one of the most beautiful of them all—an impressive canyon where the [...]

Goat Rock (Kozia Kamak)When you travel west from Lake Dospat, to the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, you reach an area of beautiful villages built of slate stones, in a traditional style that has not changed since the 19th century. [...]

Gradishte Thracian Sanctuary In the western Rhodope Mountains, there are several megalithic sites hidden among the extensive fir forests, and most of them share a common characteristic: they consist of groups of huge upright rocks rising tens of meters high, [...]

The Seven Lakes make up one of the most beautiful and well-known sites in the Rila Mountains. These are seven alpine lakes, situated at altitudes ranging from 2,100 to 2,500 meters, connected by streams and meadows. It is an area [...]

Dunov claimed that in the Rila Mountains there is an energetic triangle, whose vertices are the Seven Lakes on one side, Musala Mountain on the other, and the Rila Monastery as the third vertex. Rila Monastery will be detailed in [...]

Belogradchik is an area of mysterious sandstone hills in northwestern Bulgaria, covering several hundred square kilometers and somewhat reminiscent of Cappadocia. At the heart of the area lies the town of Belogradchik, and at its center stands an ancient citadel [...]

Eyes of God (Prohodna)"Eyes of God" is the name given to the passage cave of Prohodna, which is also a prehistoric site located about 500 meters from the banks of the Iskar River. It is a cave with two openings [...]

This is the largest Thracian tomb-temple and one of the most beautiful ever discovered. It is located on top of a hill in the heart of a wooded natural area, 50 km north of Plovdiv on the edge of the [...]

The most famous tomb-temple in the Valley of the Thracian Kings is that of King Seuthes III, located near the village of Shipka and known as Kosmatka. The site remained sealed for 2,300 years and was discovered by Bulgarian archaeologist [...]

Valley of the Kings – Kazanlak To the north of the city of Kazanlak, hundreds of monumental Thracian tomb-temples were discovered, shaped as large round burial mounds. These include remarkable paintings, gold treasures, and monumental architecture. The valley, also known [...]

10 km south of Kazanlak, in the foothills of the Sredna Gora Mountains, on a hill bordering the valley, there is a gate built of massive stones, inside of which there is an opening through which sunlight shines on the [...]

In the east of the Balkan Mountains lies the town of Sliven, which was a center of rebels against the Ottomans — the local Hayduks who found refuge in the mountains and the blue rocks above it. Today, there is [...]

Stara Zagora is an ancient and large City in Bulgarian terms (140,000 people) located in the north-east of the Thracian plain. Neolithic villages were discovered near it, the most important of which is Karanovo. The fertile plain was the center [...]

The center of the Rhodope Mountains is a beautiful and wooded area, high mountains cut by deep canyons, where the largest fir forests in the Balkans exist, hundreds of bears, and some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe are [...]

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, home to nearly half a million people. It is located in an excellent position in the heart of the fertile Thracian plain and serves as a center of industry, culture, and art. The [...]