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DAY 1 - Arrival. Sofia – Assenovgrad (180 km by minibus) - Chepelare

Depending on time of arrival:
a) Accommodation, dinner and overnight in a 3 star hotel in Sofia if the arrival is after 11:00 h.
b) Bus (minibus) transfer to the tour starting point - the town of Assenovgrad, close to the city of Plovdiv (2 hours). On the bikes for 10 km to the famous Batchkovo Monastery. A short visit to the monastery. Lunch. Continue on the bicycles to the village of Chepelare. Chepelare is a typical Bulgarian mountain village, which is famous for its skiing school traditions and with Orion - the only ski factory in Bulgaria. The village is also the birth place of Bulgaria's Olympic gold medal winner – Katerina Dafovska (biathlon - Women's 15 km, in Nagano 1998).

Lap difficulty: Easy / Moderate

Lap bicycling: 55 km

DAY 2 - Chepelare - Pamporovo - Shiroka Laka - Devin

After breakfast, on the bikes for 44 km to the town of Devin, via the famous Bulgarian Winter Ski Resort of Pamporovo - the second largest in Bulgaria, located at 1,650 m above sea level in the Perelik range of the Western Rhodope. A short stop here for lunch. Then we'll ride to the village of Shiroka Luka. Shiroka Lucka is a village well known not only throughout Bulgaria, but also abroad, for its original Rhodope-style architecture, musical traditions and history. A very interesting village to visit! The only school for National music instruments and national songs is also situated here. We stop for refreshments here before we move on to the town of Devin. Devin is popular for its mineral curative water, which is being derived from a very deep spring. The area around Devin is very beautiful and especially the Devinska River, which runs through a small hilly gorge. It's worth a visit! Dinner and overnight in a small hotel in the town.

Lap difficulty: Easy

Lap bicycling: 46 km

DAY 3 - Devin - Trigrad Gorge - Yagodina Village

After breakfast, on the bikes for 28 km (around 2 hours) along the Trigrad Gorge, from Devin to the Dyavolskoto Garlo (Devil's Throat) Cave. A visit inside the cave - 20 minutes. Then for some 1.5 h, hiking from the Dyavolskoto Garlo (Devil's Throat) Cave to the Yagodina Village. Lunch at the village. After lunch continue to the Yagodina Cave, with a visit inside (around 45 min). Bach to the Yagodina village. Free time in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight in small cosy hotel at Yagodina Village.

The Trigrad Gorge is an amazing place, where the river winds its way up to Trigrad. This is the only way to Trigrad and in the spring when the river fills with water the village is sometimes completely isolated. Trigrad village was earlier known for the 700-800 sheep each family had. The people still have sheep but not as many. In Trigrad you will see a Christian Church and a Muslim Mosque built side by side. In the village you will meet with both Christian and Muslim culture and traditions.

The Dyavolsko Garlo cave – meaning The Devil's Throat – is the highest underground waterfall on the Balkan Peninsula - about 60 m and a cave embraced with legends.

Yagodinska Cave – the cave is 11 km long, though only 3 of them are open to the public. The cave is very beautiful and interesting - filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Visitors enter the cave through an artificially dug opening, while the natural entrance is 30 m above. A special path through the cave gives visitors the opportunity to see how the wonderful underground world has been formed in the course of millions of years.

Lap difficulty: Moderate

Lap bicycling: 28 km

DAY 4 - Yagodina village - Dospat

After breakfast, downhill biking from Yagodina village to the town of Dospat. Dospat town is located at the end of one of the most beautiful dams in Bulgaria. Some quality time around the Dospat Dam in the evening. Fresh fish from the dam for dinner. Overnight in a hotel on the shore of Dospat Dam.

Lap difficulty: Moderate / Difficult

Lap bicycling: 35 km

DAY 5 - Dospat - Sarnitsa - Velingrad Spa Resort

After breakfast, biking along a picturesque route close to Dospat Dam for 15 km and then from the Muslim town of Sarnitsa for another 48 km (10km of the road is going under reconstruction-2008) on a breath-taking passage through the mountain to the Spa Resort of Velingrad. Lunch on the way. Dinner in a restaurant on the lake Kleptuza. Overnight in a very good hotel in the town.

Together with the numerous mineral waters Velingrad takes pride in another natural phenomenon - the Kleptuza. This is the biggest Karst spring in Bulgaria with debit of 1200 litres of ice-cold water per second.

Lap difficulty: Moderate

Lap bicycling: 65 km

DAY 6 - Velingrad - Yundola - Bansko

After breakfast, we will ride on a special narrow-gauge line train, that passes through the highest station on the Balkan peninsula, to the Yundola area. Then on the bikes for a memorable 70 km downhill ride along one of the breath-taking routes of Bulgaria - Yundola, Razlog and Bansko, where the 3 major mountains the Rhodopes, Rila and Pirin Mountains meet. Lunch on the way. Dinner and overnight in the famous skiing village of Bansko.

Lap difficulty: Easy

Lap bicycling: 70 km

DAY 7 - Bansko - Sofia - departure

After breakfast, a short tour around Bansko and lunch. Bus transfer to Sofia (2.5 hours). Free time in Sofia / Transfer to the Airport for departure flight. No biking this day.

Optional:

On the way back - a short (30km) cycling leg and a stop for a visit of the famous Rila Monastery (included in Unesco World Heritage list) and/or

White water rafting - for 2-3 hours at Kresna on Struma River (depends on time of year and the water flow sufficiency)

END OF TRAVEL SERVICES.





If there is something inconvenient to you in this tour as described, we will be happy to modify it, so that the program best suits your preferences.

What do you have to do:

1. Visit our towns and villages section
2. Choose the places you are interested in
3. Decide on the duration of your vacation and the number of days you are willing to spend in each place
4. Decide on the budget you are willing to spend
5. Write to us or use the Request Form, giving us all the information above
6. We promise give you the most suitable itinerary and rate according to your desires within 24 hours

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TESTIMONIALS:

"Hello George,
Sorry for the delay, but I was busy with my job untilll now!
We appreciated a lot the Rodope-bike-tour and we spoke about it to our bike-friends. Probably you will be contacted by some of them in the future.
Here attached are some pictures, the most beautiful ones!

Thanks again for the organization.
See you soon,

Greetings,"

Valeria & Piero
Rome, Italy
April - May 2008

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