Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(mains 5-12 lv; 7am-midnight; )
Fresh fish is on the menu at the harbourside res-
taurant of the hotel of the same name.
Getting There & Away
Tsarevo's bus station is at the top of ul Mikhail Gerdzhikov, about 2km west of the centre.
Minibuses to Burgas (9 lv, 50 minutes) run roughly every 30 minutes to one hour between
6am and 8pm via Kiten and Primorsko, and there are two daily buses to Sofia (37 lv, eight
hours).
Strandzha Nature Park
05952
In Bulgaria's southeastern corner is the remote Strandzha Nature Park, established in
1995. The 1161 sq km of rolling hills protect the country's most diverse vegetation, in-
cluding vast forests of oak and beech, as well as 40 species of fish, 134 breeding bird spe-
cies, 65 species of mammals, including golden jackals, wildcats and otters, and various
ancient ruins.
The park's ecotourism potential is slowly being developed, but visiting the area is not
easy without private transport. Be sure you don't stray too close to the Turkish border: this
is an area of smugglers and suspicious border-patrol guards.
The park is ideal for
hiking
because it's sparsely populated and relatively flat. Several
short hikes (1km to 8km long), and longer treks (about 20km) between the coast and the
centre of the park, are detailed in the colourful
Nature Park Strandzha
map (1:70,000; 4
lv), available at bookshops in Burgas. The park also contains what are probably the most
undeveloped stretches of sandy
beach
along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. If you visit in
early June, make sure you witness the
fire-dancing festival
in Bulgari. There is some use-
ful information online, at
www.discoverstrandja.com
and
www.visitstrandja.com
,
if you
intend exploring.
The administrative centre of the park is Malko Târnovo, a small, dusty town in the
southwest. The
History Museum
(ul Konstantin Petkanov; 2 lv; 8am-noon & 1-4pm
Mon-Fri)
has some local archaeological finds, and the
Ethnographical Museum
(
2126)
contains displays about the park. For more details, contact the
park office
( tel/
fax 05952-3635;
www.strandja.bg
; ul Yanko Maslinov 1, Malko Târnovo)
.
