Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
The
Museum of Folk Craft & Applied Arts
( 62 063; pl Vûzhrazhdane; admission 2
lv; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri)
by the bridge exhibits local textiles, woodcarving, metalwork,
weaving, pottery and ceramics, plus archaeological artefacts. The adjoining
History Mu-
seum
is included in the admission cost.
Activities
Horse riding
(20 lv per person per hour)
at local villages is arranged by the tourist centre,
which also helps rent
mountain bikes
(per hour/day 2/14 lv)
; there are five designated
mountain-bike routes, including to Troyan Monastery. Guides (50 lv per day) speaking
French, German or English are available for local tours and
hikes
.
HIKING IN THE STARA PLANINA
With an average height of little over 700m, the Stara Planina (Old Mountain) range is not high, particularly com-
pared with the Rila and Pirin Mountains. Nonetheless it is vast, covering 11,500 sq km (about 10% of Bulgaria)
and, at close to 550km long, it extends almost the entire length of the country. Nearly 30 peaks are more than
2000m high and the mountains feed a third of Bulgaria's major rivers. The highest point is Mt Botev (2376m),
north of Karlovo.
Julian Perry's
Mountains of Bulgaria
describes the strenuous 25-day (650km to 700km) trek across the entire
range. This trek - which starts at Berkovitsa, near the border with Serbia, and finishes at Emine Cape, about 20km
northeast of Nesebâr on the Black Sea coast - is on the trans-European E3 trek. The topics text is detailed, but
maps are poor; buy Kartografia's widely available
Stara Planina
map.
Some of the more interesting hikes along marked trails:
Cherni Osêm to Hizha Ambaritsa
Four hours.
Dryanovo Ecotrail
Four hours.
Etâr to Sokolski Monastery
One hour, then continue to Shipka Pass (extra two to three hours; steep).
Gabrovo to Hizha Uzana
Four hours.
Karlovo to Hizha Hubavets
Two hours, or continue to Hizha Vasil Levski (another two to three hours) and Mt
Botev (further two to three hours).
Shipka Monastery to Shipka Pass
Two hours.
Sliven to Hizha Karandila
Three hours.
