Villages
Bulgarian villages are famous for their beautiful natural settings and their hospitable residents.
Village tourism has been successfully developed in many of them, providing the opportunity to experience Bulgarian lifestyles and culture, enjoy Bulgarian traditions and customs, and taste Bulgarian dishes prepared according to age-old recipes.
Every Bulgarian village can boast of its rich store of interesting stories and legends. Visitors can benefit from the invigorating contact with nature, relaxation, healthy food, while gleaning village lore. Who wouldn’t feel heartened to wake to the warbling of birds; breakfast on banitsa hot from the homeowner’s oven, with a side dish of homemade yogurt; take a horseback ride through the forest; then relax over a steaming cup of herbal tea by the fireplace of a country evening?
Some of the prettiest Bulgarian villages are nestled in the Rhodope Mountains – Gela, Shiroka Laka, Momchilovtsi, Orehovo, Smilyan, Arda, Dolen, Leshten, Kovachevitsa, Pletena, among many others.
There are also many picturesque villages in the Balkan Mountains – Bozhentsi, Ribaritsa, Zheravna, Oreshak, Medven, Skandalo, Elena, Etrapole and Teteven are just a few of them. The village of Arbanasi near Veliko Tarnovo, a retreat for the well-to-do, is both an enchanting place to relax and a perfect starting point for day trips.
Another kind of charm awaits visitors to villages along the Black Sea coast, since they can combine summer fun with visits to such scenic retreats as Durankulak, Krapets, Tyulenovo, Kamen Bryag, Balgarevo, Shkorpilovtsi, Lozenets, Varvara, Sinemorets, and Rezovo on the Turkish border.
To get to know the beauty of the Rila Mountains, visitors can spend quality time in some of its small towns, such as Govedartsi, Beli Iskar, Mala Tsarkva or Dobarsko.
Accommodations are also available in the Strandzha villages of Balgari, Kosti, Brashlyan, Mladezhko, and those who visit Strandzha at the beginning of June can observe the ancient ritual of nestinarstvo – dancing on live coals.