Heritage of Bulgaria
October 4-13, 2007
Plan your arrival in Sofia for October 3
Plan your departure from Sofia for October 14, or later

Join us for this "art and culture" adventure at Europe's eastern edge! Experience the colorful and fascinating heritage of Bulgaria, a little-known, and beautiful Balkan country. Stable and welcoming, Bulgaria offers off-the-beaten-path experiences for the adventurous traveler. Museum villages, orthodox monasteries and churches filled with icons and frescoes, music and great food await your discovery! Daily walks and optional short hikes are included in the itinerary.

Day 1
Overnight in Sofia
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Bulgaria's capital city, Sofia, dates back to Roman times when it was known as Serdica. It acquired its current name sometime during the 14th century when is was named for the Church of Sveta Sofia (“Church of Holy Wisdom”). Sofia became Bulgaria’s capital city in 1878 following the country’s liberation from half a millennium of Ottoman rule. This morning, enjoy a walking tour of the principal sights in central Sofia including the Rotunda of Saint George (a chapel dating from the 4th century), the Roman ruins at East Gate, the church of Sveta Sofia, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre and the spectacular, gold-domed Aleksandar Nevski Church. After lunch, travel to the slopes of Mount Vitiosha on the southern edge of the city to visit the Boyana Church (a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site). The 13th century frescoes adorning the interior walls of the church are considered to be some of the most important medieval paintings in Europe. Later, tour Bulgaria's National History Museum noted for its collection of gold and silver Thracian artifacts. The remainder of the day is at your leisure. Enjoy a welcome dinner this evening.

Day 2
Overnight at Bansko
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Drive from Sofia to the spectacular Rila Monastery nestled in a deep valley on the western flanks of the Rila Mountains. Portions of the monastery, which was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1983, date to the 14th century though a large portion of the monastery was reconstructed in the 19th century after a devastating fire. The monastery’s five-domed Sveta Borgoroditsa church dates from 1834 and is dedicated to the Birth of the Virgin; the walls and domed ceilings of its exterior gallery are graced with brilliant frescoes that will take your breath away! You can wander through the impressive 19th century monastery kitchen and along the multi-storied, arcaded verandahs that ring the interior of the monastery compound. An optional two-hour hike to the St. John of Rila Cave will take you through beech woodlands and open meadows typical of the west-facing valleys of the Rila Mountains. After visiting the monastery, travel to the town of Bansko and spend the night in a comfortable hotel at the base of the majestic Pirin Mountains.

Day 3
Overnight in Kovachevitsa
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Explore Bansko town and its cobbled back streets. Wander past well-preserved kashti ("houses") for a taste of traditional Bulgarian vernacular architecture. Visit the town’s Sveta Troitsa Church whose interior is filled with works exemplifying the Bansko and Dobarsko schools of art. Depart Bansko bound for the Rodopi Mountain village of Kovachevitsa (elevation 3,500 feet). The village, set on a bench above the gorge of the Kanina River, is filled with fine examples of National Revival architecture and has been named an architectural and historical reserve by the Bulgarian government. Enjoy a leisurely stroll along the cobbled streets of the village, or choose a slightly more strenuous walk along a stone-tiled path that leads through fragrant fields and forest to the tiny mountain chapel of St. George crowning a wooded ridge-top above Kovachevitsa. You'll stay overnight in a lovingly managed traditional kashta enveloped by the tranquility of this singular mountain village!

Day 4
Overnight in Devin
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Depart Kovachevitsa to continue your journey eastward across the Rodopi Mountains. Travel up a narrow limestone gorge to reach the village of Yagodina. From Yagodina, an optional hike of two and a half hours will take you across a mountain plateau to the village of Trigrad. En route you'll enjoy views over the Buinov and Trigrad Gorges for which this area is well-known. If you'd rather, you can travel directly to Trigrad by vehicle passing by the Devil's Throat, a large cave into which the River Trigrad disappears. Enjoy lunch at a family guesthouse in Trigrad. After lunch, travel the short distance of the town of Devin where your overnight accommodation will be in a four-star spa hotel. Enjoy the spa facilities of the hotel or choose an optional afternoon hike just outside Devin.

Day 5
Overnight in Plovdiv
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Depart Devin bound for Shiroka Lâka, a picturesque town of slate-roofed houses and humpbacked bridges. After a short walking tour of the village, continue to the 11th century Bachkovo Monastery (the second largest Bulgarian monastery) featuring the monastery church with its "miracle icon of the Virgin," the medieval refectory, and the ossuary with the oldest murals in the country including a Georgian-style madonna and child. In the late afternoon we visit the 13th century Sveta Bogoroditsa Church and the ruins of the Asenova fortress dramatically perched above the entrance to the Chepelarska gorge. Continue to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city, for dinner and overnight in a centrally-located hotel.

Day 6
Overnight in Plovdiv
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Tour the principal sights of Plovdiv including its old quarter, full of magnificent Bulgarian National Revival style houses including the lovely Hindlian House built by Armenian merchants. Here, too, is a Roman amphitheater built in the second century AD when the Romans made Plovdiv (then called Trimontium) a provincial capital. There'll be time to visit the Ethnography Museum and the gallery of post-war Bulgarian painter, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev. Enjoy dinner in a fine restaurant in the old town with wine tasting and live classical music.

Day 7
Overnight in Kmetovtsi
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
In the morning travel northward to the town of Kazanlûk where you'll visit the decorated Kazanlûk Thracian Tomb (a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site) and the recent excavations (2004) at the Goliamata Kosmatka Tomb. After lunch, travel across the great Balkan Range that Bulgarians call the Stara Planina ("Old Mountains") via the Shipka Pass road. En route, visit the striking Shipka memorial cathedral, built in the Russian style to commemorate Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman occupation. Enjoy the far-ranging views along the crest of the Balkan Range at Shipka pass (where the decisive battle for the Liberation of Bulgaria took place in 1878). From the pass, the road descends to North Bulgaria. Travel to the small village of Kmetovtsi. Your accommodations for the next two nights are in a three-star hotel built in traditional architectural style. Dinner is served in the tavern of the hotel.

Day 8
Overnight in Kmetovtsi
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Today, travel to the picturesque city of Veliko Târnovo whose old center is built on a rocky promontory enclosed by the meandering Yantra River. The Bulgarian poet, Ivan Vazov, once described the city's clustered houses as "frightened sheep, bound to the rocks by wild lilac and vines." En route, visit Arbanassi, one of Bulgaria's most beautiful villages, perched on the slopes above Veliko Târnovo. Here, you'll find fortress-like houses that were built by Arbanassi's wealthy merchants and a medieval church with exceptional murals. Descend by vehicle to Veliko Târnovo. After lunch, embark on a walking tour of Veliko Târnovo, the medieval capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (12th-14th centuries) including a tour of the impressive citadel of Tsarevets. In the late afternoon pay a visit to the Lyaskovets winery to sample the delightful range of wines produced by one of Bulgaria's oldest wineries. Return to Kmetovtsi for dinner and overnight.

Day 9
Overnight in Koprivshtitsa
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
In the morning visit the six hundred year old village of Bozhentsi tucked in the foothills of the Balkan Range. The entire village was designated an architectural reserve about forty years ago. An optional two and a half hour hike leads to Tryavna, a 12th century town long known as a center for woodcarving and icon painting. If you don't choose to walk, you can travel by vehicle to Tryavna. There you'll enjoy a stroll in the old center where stone bridges span the stream that runs through the center of town. Here are fine examples of houses from the National Revival period; the Daskalov House is typical of the Tryavna style. Re-cross the Balkan Range by vehicle to reach Koprivshtitsa village set in the beautiful pastoral landscapes of the Sredna Gora ("central highlands"). En route, travel through Bulgaria's "Valley of the Roses" where rose attar (rose extract) is produced. Arrive in Koprivshtitsa in the late afternoon and settle into comfortable accommodations for the evening.

Day 10
Overnight in Sofia
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
A walking tour along Koprivshtitsa's cobbled lanes will take you through the core of this lovely mountain village full of some of the finest examples of vernacular architecture in the country. There are almost four hundred houses dating from Bulgaria's National Revival period (mid-19th century). You'll visit some of the finest houses (including the Oslekov, Lyutov and Kableshkov Houses) which are maintained as "house museums." In addition to its architectural noteworthiness, Koprivshtitsa is also revered by Bulgarians as the place where the April 1876 Uprising (against the Ottoman occupation) began. Later in the day, travel back to Bulgaria's capital city of Sofia. This evening, gather with your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner in a traditional restaurant featuring a folklore program of music and dancing. (Your overnight accommodations, breakfast on the morning of October 14 and a transfer to Sofia airport are included in the price of the trip.)

Other Details about this Trip
Dates: October 4-13, 2007
Trip Leaders: Amy or John Osaki and Asen Marinov
Price: $3,150
Single room for entire trip: $300
Lodging: Eleven nights in four or three star hotels and inns. All nights with private bathroom facilities except on October 6 where there will be shared bath facilities. Note: Your hotel in Sofia on the evening of October 3 is included along with dinner that evening.
Meals: 11 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 11 dinners included
Trip Begins in Sofia, Bulgaria
Trip Ends in Sofia, Bulgaria

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