Rhodope Mountains | Print |

 

The Rhodope mountains offer excellent tourism opportunities, many of which rely on the region's diverse landscape, beautiful forests and biodiversity as well as the cultural heritage and local traditions.

 

Nature Related Tourism

With its unique landscape and biodiversity, the Rhodope area offers numerous opportunities for specialised activities such as cave exploration and bird watching. In particular the latter attracts many people to the region during the migration periods. The mountains also boast a huge variety of exceptional flora and fauna bringing many enthusiasts both amateur and professional.

 

Hiking, Climbing, Mountain Biking and Horse Riding

With its gently rolling hills and numerous tracks and footpaths criss-crossing the mountains, the Rhodope is a very attractive region for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders. Here and there, between the green hills, impressive gorges and rocks are a magnet for the climbers. Supporting this form of tourism, tourist chalets are spread throughout the area along with B&Bs and family owned hotels. The availability of suitable accommodation is crucial for the continuing success of the many outdoor activities in this region.

 

Cultural & Spa Tourism

The favourable nature and climate conditions are one of the reasons why the mountains have been inhabited since prehistoric times. This can be seen by the huge number of archeological remains from Neolithic times, Thracian Civilization, and the 1st and 2nd Bulgarian Kingdoms. Even today, different ethnic and religious groups live together in the region, preserving their centuries-old traditions and culture. In many towns and villages evidence of the architecture of the 18-19th century National Revival Period can be seen.

Other local attractions that bring visitors to the area regularly are the many folklore festivals and fairs. The most famous amongst them being Rozhen Fair where thousands of performers and tens of thousands of visitors celebrate the wide and varied culture of Bulgaria.

The region is also rich in curative mineral water springs and many of these are utilized in spa tourism. People come from far and wide to sample the spa water in this area. There's a village nearby called 'Banite' which means 'The Baths' and there you can swim, take a massage, have mud treatment and so on.

 

Hunting and Fishing

The Rhodope area offers many opportunities for fishing tourism with many dams and rivers all full of Balkan trout. Additionally there are several estates offering the hunting of deer, bear, wild boar, and other game species.

 

Winter sports

One of the main tourist attractions during the winter period is Pamporovo (over 5000ft above sea level) just 6 miles away. There are six ski-tracks catering for all skill levels. Many skiers prefer to use the pistes but stay away from the noisy, crowded aprés-ski and enjoy a quieter evening. Thus the house is ideal for these quality guests.

Currently, another large scale project for sport tourism is under construction in the Smolyan area of ‘Perelik’ and it was recently announced that the new gondola lift will start from the actual Smolyan town. Once finished, travel to the ski slopes will be even easier for the guests.

 

This is a map of the ski pistes of Pamporovo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, to summarise, the great potential of this area, along with the special events mentioned earlier, means an 'all year round' supply of guests.

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