Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
or saddle, her long brown hair streaming behind her. A camera is essential; spare film
or memory card is recommended.
ESSENTIALS: GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND
Seeing the best this region has to offer involves traveling up roads that are effectively
cul-de-sacs. You will have to accept a fair amount of doubling back as you travel east
to Pamporovo, one of Bulgaria's top three ski resorts, before heading north to Plovdiv.
There only tourism bureau is in Shiroka Luka which has the efficient
Rhodopi tourist
center
(daily 8:30am-noon and 1-6:30pm;
&
03030/233;
www.shiroka-luka.com)
servicing the region; staff provides you with maps and recommendations on places to
stay, as well as more information on the annual
kukeri
carnival held here every March,
and the
International Bagpipe Festival
(www.gaidaland.com).
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
Kapsazov's kashta
Relaxing in the immaculate stonewalled garden,
watching swallows dive-bomb the pretty pool or just gazing up at the forested slopes
that surround the house is a delight; but it is at the dining table that you really know
you've landed up in heaven. The angel in the kitchen is Sofia Kapsazov—she has writ-
ten a cookbook on traditional Bulgarian cooking and also hosts regular cooking
courses; after tasting one of her meals you'll wish you had the time to sign up for one.
The Kapsazovs were both working as translators in Sofia before they decided to ditch
the city and relocate to their weekend getaway, putting the finishing touches on what
is a typical Kovachevitsa house from the outside, but a very comfortable, classy guest-
house inside. Today this escape attracts a fascinating mix of expat diplomats, Sofia
intelligentsia, and exhausted businessmen, many of them repeat visitors who can't get
enough of the utter peace and quiet on offer here, and the wonderful meals of course.
As dinners are enjoyed communally, either outside, in the main dining room upstairs
or in the huge kitchen (personal favorite, as you can watch Sofia work her magic),
there's every chance you'll get a chance to mingle with an interesting crowd, particu-
larly if you're here over weekends—but book months in advance, though the Kap-
sazovs plan to convert three more houses during the next few years.
15-min. drive north from Leshten. Booking office: P.O. Box 656 BG, Sofia 1000.
&
099 403089
or 048/969676. 5
units. 55
Finds
($70) per person. No credit cards. Rates include breakfast and dinner.
Amenities:
Cooking courses; mush-
room and herb picking; hiking.
Leshten Cottages & “Krachma”
Leshten, its very name a whispered
promise, is where you'll find the little Bulgarian country cottage you never knew you
wanted. Built on a steep hillside on a flank of the southwestern Rhodope mountains,
Leshten's views—rolling forested hills, backdropped by the snowcapped Pirin range—
are the best in Bulgaria, no mean feat given the competition. Once a bustling village,
the original population slowly dwindled to nothing, but the village was saved from
ruin by the industrious Misho Marinov, who has renovated 15 of the 18th-century
houses, retaining their original character, and furnishing them with traditional rugs
and blankets. The result is a collection of absolutely charming cottages, with all the
creature comforts you need for a thoroughly relaxing stay (if you're looking for a
romantic option, book the tiny clay Mali-style en-suite home, the only one Misho has
built virtually from scratch). Most have shaded balconies furnished with rustic timber
tables and benches from which to drink in the magnificent view; some, like Popskata,
even have small walled-off private gardens.
€
Finds
