The summer tourist season in the Central Balkan Range kicked off with the traditional Rock Academy downtown Troyan. Especially for the concert the famous Serbian rock band Pero Defformero arrived to the mountain town. Enjoying the rock sound the audience paid little attention to the heavy but short rain and went on partying until midnight. The locals are optimistic about the summer of 2015 and hope to welcome thousands of mountain and alternative tourism fans.

When more than ten years ago a few Balkan Range municipalities joined forces to develop a joint tourist product no one believed the effort would be worthwhile. Well, today the Balkania Region has emerged as a brand in Bulgarian tourism and the municipalities of Troyan, Teteven, Apriltsi and Etropole have become hot destinations for summer holidaymakers. The locals do not only rely on the breathtaking natural scenery and quite good accommodation facilities but have added a few extra attractions. These include cycling tours, horse-riding, trails in nature reserves, team buildings etc. The purpose is to detach guests from their urban lifestyles.

For example, by choosing the village of Chiflik one is free to combine mountain outings with first-class spa procedures in the local hotels’ mineral pools. And why not spending a great weekend by Sopot Dam? One can go fishing there and in the meantime enjoy great sights without the nuisance of hordes ofmosquitoes: Sopot is a high mountain dam and has no swampy areas. Local food takes pride in the so-called “white man” dish made of melted white cheese, butter and flour. Koziata Stena (Goat’s Wall) reserve offers various trails and extreme trekking, trolley rope abseilingandarchery. Usually the mountain tour ends with tasting Troyan plum brandy and grilled skewersat Haydushka Pesen (Rebel Song) chalet.

„People’s priority is to have some emotional experience, feel as part of an event and a community, and therefore we work to diversify our tourist potential on a regular basis by adding festivals, sporting events and other extras”, explains Darya Zarichinova from Tour Club ReMark: „For instance, 24 June is the festival of herbs Eniovden (Midsummer) and there is a festival underway at the village of Balkanets near Troyan. In May the Municipality of Apriltsi organizes a Bikandjii Race, a mountain biking event that attracts guests from across the country. On 28 and 29 July the festival of sons-in-law will be held in Etropole. It is a humorous event and includes a masquerade pageant. In early August Ribaritsa hosts the festival of traditional costumes. Guests are welcome to a singing, dancing and Best Costume competitions. Probably the most popular event of this kind is the Festival of the Plum in Troyan and Oreshak. It highlights the great taste of the local plum brandy and also offers various dishesand appetizersthat go well with it. There is a diverse culinary display of dishes made with plums and based on traditional recipes.”

Present-day urban folk is keener on getting unhooked from the computer screen and on being out in nature where emotion is real and intense. For such guys the Central Balkan Range is full of surprise. In fact Bulgarian tourists know the region quite well and often choose it for summer vacations. Unfortunately this is not the case with foreign tourists for whom Balkania is still terra incognitamostly due to feeble advertising. Let us hope things will soon change for the better!

English version Daniela Konstantinova

Photos: Veneta Nikolova