Get to know its riches – smiling, hospitable people, delicious food, great views, fresh air, rich history and culture! Rhodope Mountains are magnificent and in its west share in their embrace the municipalities of Borino, Bratsigovo, Devin and Dospat are expecting you! Here on the winding mountain paths in the shade of old forests Orpheus charmed people and animals with his artful lyre. Follow us in his footsteps!...
Western Rhodopes is a tourist region which comprises the teritory of four municipalities: Borino, Bratsigovo, Devin and Dospat, all of which are neighboring regions, with...
The Regional tourist product of the municipalities of Borino, Bratsigovo, Devin and Dospat was developed within the European project The Treasures of Western Rhodopes,...
The Bratsigovo Municipality spreads over a territory of 221 square kilometers and is part of the Osogovo-Rhodope area in the Western Rhodopes. Its location and moderate climate as well as its healing water, clean air, tourist attractions and well-developed accommodation facilities foster tourism in the region. The municipality includes 7 settlements – the town of Bratsigovo, the villages Rozovo, Ravnogor, Kozarsko, Isperihovo, Byaga and Zhrebichko and 2 village resorts – Atoluka and Rozovski vriz. It has 9648 inhabitants. The well-preserved natural environment is a priceless treasure and includes six protected territories – the Atoluka, Tamra, Vinishte, Koriyatam and Gramadite areas and the Besaparski ridges. The biological diversity contributes to the development of tourism. The Bratsigovo’s municipality forest area is 128 820 decares or 55 % of the municipality’s entire area. The Bratsigovo Municipality is cuddled in the Rhodope Mountain and is a perfect living location or a vacation spot all year round. Accommodation consists primarily of guest houses and family hotels most of which are in Bratsigovo, the Ravnogor village and the “Vasil Petleshkov” (Atoluka) village resort. There are 44 dining and entertainment places – restaurants, cafés, snack-bars, pastry shops and others. The town of Bratsigovo The town of Bratsigovo is the municipal center. The settlement was established in the 16th C and has preserved the free Bulgarian spirit. In the 18th C it became an important administrative unit, and in the 19th C its citizens became famous for their masonry and rose production. The village’s name was first mentioned in the distant 1520 in the „Rumeli Idzheman tefteri” recordings and in 1876, during the April Uprising, Bratsigovo became a rebels’ focal point. 143 rebels from Bratsigovo, headed by Vasil Petleshkov were killed in the uprising but the 1333 rebels managed to withstand the Turkish attacks for 16 days and Bratsigovo remained the only unconquerable fortress in the Fourth revolutionary district. The rich and turbulent historical past of the town and the region, the well-preserved historical monuments /Thracian mounds, ancient fortresses, Roman roads and bridges/, items from people’s everyday life and their revolutionary activities, the old houses with their authentic Revival-period architecture and the region’s atmosphere are an excellent prerequisite for the development of cultural tourism. The Village of Ravnogor The village of Ravnogor is situated in the northwestern part of Batak Rhodopes, 1362 m. above sea level. Its geographical coordinates are respectively: 41.57 degrees north latitude and 24.22 degrees east longitude. The village is known for its beautiful scenery – some of the most magnificent views of the Rhodopes are revealed from the steep Beckow Cliffs above the village and also from the so colled Red Cliff (another picturesque...
Read moreBorino Municipality is the smallest in the region, but its five villages are successfully developing rural, adventure and eco-tourism. Here you can go hiking, try horseback riding, mountain biking, buggy/ATV driving and the snowmobile rides in winter. There are ski lift and ski and snowboarding tracks for beginners, as well as an off-road track. The municipality has a tourist lodge, a number of guest houses and small hotels. Some quite interesting sites, favorite to many tourists are to be found on the territory of Borino Municipality: The Yagodina cave, the longest cave in the Rhodope Mountains, rich in various cave formations, suitable for touristic visit The longest gorge in Bulgaria – Buinovo gorge; The unique panoramic platform Eagle Eye which is 670 above Buinovo gorge and on a clear day you can see the surrounding mountains; The Biospheric reserve Kastrakli; Natural landmark Devil’s Bridge. The Borino village is an example of ethnic tolerance – where Bulgarians, Turks, Bulgarian-Muslims, and Roma live like neighbors and there is a popular saying that they are closer than relatives. The village is situated at 1140 m. altitude in a beautiful valley. The direct road from Philipopolis /Plovdiv/ to Nikopolis ad Nestrum /Gotse Delchev/ and Macedonia passed through Borino. Eolithic hearths have been discovered on the territory of the village and in the Haramiyska cave were found idol figurines associated with the cult of the mother goddess and the cult of the sun. Flint tools were found near Chalet “Orpheus”. It is believed that the Thracian tribe Bessi lived in the vicinity of the village of Borin. Remains of Thracian mounds and shrines were found around Mt. Turlata. Prior to 1934 the name of the village was Karabulak. Villagers tell the legend of Kara bula or the “the woman in black”/ “the black widow”. She came to Borino with her four sons from the nearby Gyovren village. The brothers eventually had their own families and scattered round the village thus establishing four different neighborhoods. The Buynovo village The village is situated in a beautiful mountain region in the Western Rhodopes only 2 km away from the border with the Republic of Greece. The archeological findings clearly indicate that the village and its surroundings were inhabited by the Thracians from the end of the Bronze era (1000 years BC). The main occupation of the locals is sheep-breeding and its related activities – dairy-farming, homespun tailoring, weaving as well as beekeeping, wood-processing, hunting and others. For many years the village was known for its so called “kehai”- owners of thousands of sheep. The biggest celebration of the village is called Predoy – on that day the village welcomes...
Read moreThe Dospat Municipality includes the town of Dospat and 7 villages /Barutin, Zmeitsa, Lyubcha, Brushten, Kusak, Tsruncha and Chavdar/ and has a population of 9116 inhabitants. The rural, eco and fishing tourism are thriving. Accommodation is available mainly in the town and there are interesting tourist sites throughout the entire municipality. The municipality has numerous restaurants and leisure places – cafés, pastry shops, restaurants, national-cuisine restaurants, taverns and others. In the specialized fishing restaurant you can try the delicious, fresh Dospat trout. The Dospat Municipality is surrounded to the west and the northwest by the Dubrashki ridge and the Velishki slopes of the Rhodope Mountain. The beautiful, majestic mountains and the extremely clean air enchant you, give you energy and instill you with a thirst for life. Forests cover 70% of the municipality’s territory and spread over 178 hectares. The Dospat reservoir is one of the municipality’s most important tourist resources. The landscape, the biodiversity, the clean air and the mild climate form excellent conditions for successful development of rural, eco and fishing tourism in the region. Dospat symbolizes the fisherman’s contemplation, the carefree childhood, the aroma of pine trees and the spirit of the Rhodope Mountain. The Town of Dospat It is thought that the town was established by the ruler Dospat Slav and named after him. In the antiquity an ancient road, leading to the cities of Plovdiv and Smolyan, passed through the town. Today, picturesque roads connect Dospat to Devin, Smolyan, Chepelare, and Pamporovo resort to the east, the town of Gotse Delchev to the west and Batak to the north. Another theory claims that the town was named after the Greek village of Doskat. During the Turkish rule, the village was called Yanukli which means The Burned One as it had to be moved three times to three different locations. For a short period, during the era of Sultan Hamid, it was known as Hamidie. During the Second Bulgarian Empire, at the beginning of the 12th C., the forests in the region were called Slav’s forests after the ruler Despot Alexius Slav, the son of King Kaloyan’s sister. It is believed that his title “despot” gave birth to the town’s name of Dospat. The Village of Barutin The village is located nearby the Dospat River and its tributaries – Karadzha-dere and Chavdarska. Its altitude is 1050 meters. Barutin is surrounded by ancient pine and spruce trees and is rich in game, flora and fauna. Nearby the village was discovered one of the oldest Rhodope basilicas with a nave and two aisles, the other such basilicas are in the village of Gela and the Ezerovo neighborhood...
Read moreThe Devin Municipality is the largest in the region, with 16 settlements and a population of 13 013 inhabitants. The municipality has a mountainous relief with steep inaccessible slopes and deep gorges and oblique to steep ridges. The climate is transient continental and is characterized by low summer temperatures and abundant rainfalls. The Devin Municipality boasts a real treasury of water resources. It is rich in karst springs, rivers and lakes but its real treasure is the mineral springs with temperatures between 16 ºС and 76 ºС. The healing Bedenski bani (Bedenski baths) are located nearby the village of Beden. The water is hot, the temperature is 74-76 ºС, with significant flow, low mineral concentration, it is hydrocarbonic, sulphatic and sodic, with moderate quantities of fluoride, with 6.9 pH and suitable for outdoor spa. Within the town of Devin itself there is a soft mineral water fountain that makes for an excellent table water – this water is well-known abroad. The village of Mihalkovo, on the other hand, is known for its unique deposits of naturally aerated healing water suitable for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The Town of Devin The municipal center of the town of Devin is located in the Devin Mountain at an altitude of 710 meters, within a small valley, about 2 km to the west from where the Devin and the Vucha rivers meet. The Devin Mountain surrounds it to the south, the Grebenets Mount is to its southwest and the slopes of Chernatitsa ridge to the east. It is 203 km from Sofia. Devin is a renowned balneoclimateric resort and one of two Bulgarian towns (the second one is Sandanski) with the highest number of sunny days throughout the year. Winter is warm and mild, while summer is cool. This is largely due to the water abundance and the many hot springs that form a huge underground lake underneath Devin. The mineral springs are more than 15 and the majority of them are yet to be researched. Devin is known to million people at home and abroad for its bottled mineral and table water. The natural aerated water of the Village of Mihalkovo is also bottled and famous on the market for its healing qualities. Accommodation in the town of Devin can be found in high-quality SPA hotels as well as guest houses and budget hotels. Vacation houses, bungalows, huts and private guest rooms add up to the accommodation list. All of them, regardless of ranking, offer a unique style and comfortable stay at high European standard. The town’s restaurants and entertainment correspond to the category of the respective accommodation facility with the potential to...
Read more
