To the mountains!
All activities related to nature are very popular in Bulgaria. Many Sofiotes walk along the slopes of the Vitocha every weekend, winter and summer. It must be said that the mountains occupy 28% of the Bulgarian territory and are therefore almost omnipresent on the territory. The mountains of the Rhodopes, Rila, Pirin and the Great Balkan will be for the visitor the framework of magnificent hikes in the middle of a wild nature. There is no shortage of places to go for walks of all levels!
Extreme sports related to nature and especially to the mountains are also widespread and accessible to most people. In summer, climbing and rafting are popular, while the arrival of the first snow means downhill skiing, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. The winter season runs from December to April. The largest and oldest ski resort is Bovorets (1,350 m), 72 km from Sofia. It has already hosted the World Alpine Skiing Championships twice. You can also put on your skis in Bansko, with its 70 km of slopes, or in Pamporovo, the "pearl of the Rhodopes". Finally, there are a few mountaineering possibilities, including the ascent of Musala peak, Mount Malyovitsa or the Vratsata massif.
An extreme caving destination
There are also more than 5,000 caves in Bulgaria. Many of them have been developed and are open to the public, such as Ledenika, Magourata and Saeva Dupka, Batcho Kiro and Orlova Tchouka in the north and center, or Snejanka, Yagodinskata, Dyavolskoto Garlo and Ouhlovitsa in the Rhodopes. For caving enthusiasts, it must be said that even if the caves in Bulgaria are not very deep, they are often very difficult. To practice caving, it is best to contact caving clubs or adventure schools.
On the coast, seaside pleasures
The Black Sea coast is the most touristic destination in Bulgaria. It attracts in summer a crowd of visitors who come to enjoy the seaside pleasures. The Bulgarian coast is 354 km long and offers 200 km of sandy beaches. Some of them have been invested by big vacation factories like Sunny Beach and Golden Sands, but others still resist concreting and remain wild like Sinemorets, Pasha Dere, Shabla, Durankulak or Irakli, perhaps among the most beautiful beaches in Europe. You can practice scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, paddling, sea kayaking and of course swimming all along the coast.
In the land of thermalism
With its almost 600 mineral springs with curative properties, the Bulgarian territory was already known in ancient times as a thermal destination. Around some of these springs at the foot of the mountains and along the Black Sea coast, the Thracians built their cities and later the Romans erected public baths. Thus, the Romans built the largest Roman baths on the Balkan Peninsula in Varna.
Nowadays, the waters have very different chemical compositions from one to another and a high mineralization rate. Due to their deep origin, their chemical composition is constant. The winning combination of Bulgarian spas is the mild climate and the wide range of healing properties of its waters. Several well-equipped spa resorts offer a wide choice of treatments. Of note is a real geyser in Sapareva Banya, where the water gushes out at 103°C, but especially the small spa towns of Velingrad or Sandanski.
