4 days / 3 nights
3 breakfasts / 1 lunch / 2 dinners + 1 folkolre night
DAY 1: SOFIA
Route: Sofia Airport - Hotel
Arrival at Sofia Airport and welcome by a licensed English language guide. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation in a 4-star hotel in the centre of Sofia. Free time for a break or a walk. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 2: SOFIA
Route: Sofia - Boyana Church - Sofia(walking tour in the downtown)
Breakfast(07:30 - 08:30)
At 8:45 am is the meeting point in the hotel lobby. Transfer to the Boyana Church "St. Panteleimon. "
At 09:15 (10 min.) Visit the Boyana Church (XI century). It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Boyana Church is located in Vitosha Mountain. The origin of the murals dates from 1279 and they are traced back to scenes from the society of the time and depict 240 human figures. The most prominent are the portraits of Tsar Konstantin Tych and his wife Irina and Tsar Kaloyan. In addition to the murals of the 13th century, the church was later decorated with other murals of the 14th, 16th and 17th centuries.
At 09:40 – Leaving to the centre of Sofia
At 10:00 starts the walking tour of Sofia(2.5 – 3 hours)
Sofia is a modern capital with 7,000 years of history and a stable ancient rule. During the Roman Empire, Sofia was ruled by Emperor Constantine the Great, who was so captivated by the riches of the Bulgarian capital that the cult phrase "Serdica is my Rome" emerges from his mouth. Today Sofia is an important economic and administrative centre of the country and one of the most ancient cities in Europe.
Till noon - a visit to the most emblematic landmarks of the capital: Temple-monument "St. Alexander Nevsky ”(1912), National Assembly (Parliament, 1928), Monument to Tsar Liberator (Alexander II), BAS (1869), National Art Gallery for Contemporary and Foreign Art (“ Square 500 ”), The old Basilica of St. Sofia "(VI c.), Russian Church" St. Nicholas "(1912) with the Crypt, the Royal Palace of Alexander Battenberg (now National Ethnographic Museum and part of the National Art Gallery), Ivan Vazov National Theater, National Archaeological Museum (15th c.), where the Thracian gold is stored. Valchitran Treasure (2nd millennium BC), Presidency, Rotonda "St. Georgi "(IV c.), Ancient Roman complex" Serdica ", separately Ancient mosaics from the Roman era, the coat of arms of Sofia, Church" St. Sunday, the Court of Auditors, St. Andrew's Orthodox Church Petka Samardzhiyska (XIV c.), Central City Bath (now Sofia Museum of History), Mosque "Banya Bashi" (XVI c.), Central Closed Market "Halite", Synagogue (1909), Catholic Cathedral " St. Joseph. "
Lunch time
Free time for walking and shopping. Back to the hotel.
Folklore evening with traditional Bulgarian dishes in a domestic atmosphere with Bulgarian folk music and Bulgarian folk dances in the vicinity of Sofia (8 pm, 3 hours). Transfer to the hotel. Overnight.
DAY 3: SOFIA - RILA MONASTERY - SOFIA
Route: Sofia - Stob pyramids - Rila Monastery - Sofia
Breakfast(07:30 - 08:30)
At 08:45 meeting point at the lobby
At 09:00 departure to Rila Monastery st. Ivan Rilski(X century)
At 09:40 departure to Rila Monastery "St. Ivan Rilski ”(10th century). It is included in the list of sites designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The monastery is located in Rila Mountain. History tells that a Bulgarian ascetic from the 10th century named Ivan Rilski retired as a hermit in the Rila Mountains to live in a narrow cave. The complex has three hundred monastic cells covering an area of 32,000 square meters. The Rila Monastery is the largest on the Balkan Peninsula. The monastery includes the Church of the Nativity, the History Museum with the most important exhibit of the Raphael Cross, which recreates 36 religious scenes with more than 600 miniature figures, the Krell Tower (15th c.) - operates only in the summer and the Museum of the Monastery Farm. Optional visit to one of them. Free time for a walk in the courtyard and the surroundings of the monastery and eating mekitsa (traditional Bulgarian fried dough breakfast).
12:40 - Departure to Stob
At 1:00 pm lunch in the surroundings of the monastery in a picturesque area near the shore of the Rila River in a restaurant with a wonderful view of the river and the Rila Mountain, which offers traditional Bulgarian cuisine and fresh trout (1 15 min).
On the road near the village of Stob, there is a visit to the Stob pyramids (at 15:15). They are a natural phenomenon formed by physical weathering (wind power), soil erosion and rainwater. These curious pyramids are several meters high each with various shapes. They are ocher, reddish-brown, dark yellow. Some look like a stone hat up to a meter. According to their form, the pyramid groups have different names: towers, rocky peaks, chimneys of the "selfies" (a kind of fairy-tale creatures of Slavic mythology, in human form and very beautiful)
One of the legends of the origin of the Stob pyramids is the following: It is said that many years ago a wedding party was raised in the nearby village of Kolyb for choosing a bride for a boy from a family in the village of Stob, (it seems that at that time the bride and groom had no neither the right to vote nor the choice, namely the bridegroom's relatives chose his bride and went to the market for that purpose). The bride was supposed to hide her face by covering him with a veil, but the wind lifted him and the godfather tried to kiss her. As a punishment, at that moment, all the relatives of the bride were petrified and turned into rock pyramids. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and requires comfortable sports shoes.
At 16:10 leaving to Sofia. Arriving in Sofia and transfer to the hotel. Time to relax.
Dinner at 08:30 pm. Overnight.
DAY 4: SOFIA
Route: Hotel - Sofia Airport
Breakfast(08:00 - 09:00). Free time. Checking out of the hotel.
Transfer to Sofia Airport.
PRICE INCLUDES:
- Welcome and dispatch from and to Sofia Airport by a licensed English language guide
- Transfer from and to Sofia Airport
- Transfers by route in an air-conditioned vehicle
- Comfortable tourist transportation throughout the trip
- Licensed driver throughout the program
- Fuel taxes
- A guide with Spanish throughout the trip
- Accommodation in a 4-star hotel in the centre of Sofia
- Tourist city tax
- Meals: 3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 2 nights + 1 folklore evening in Sofia
- Walking tour of the central city part of Sofia with a guide in English
- Visit the sights of Sofia:
-Orthodox Cathedral of Sts. Alexander Nevsky- The old Basilica of St. Sofia
-The Russian Church St. Nicholas
-The St. George
-Ancient Roman Complex Serdica
-The church St. Nedelya
-The Orthodox Church St. Petka Samardzhiyska
-Halite Central Indoor Market
-Catholic Cathedral St. Joseph
-Visit of Rila Monastery
-Church of the Nativity in the Rila Monastery
PRICE EXCLUDES:
- Flight tickets
- Airport taxes
- Medical and travel insurance
- Supplement for single room
- Hotel services and use of minibar with soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
- Parking
- 1 Lunch in Sofia (second day)
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Comfortable sportswear with comfortable, stable and appropriate sports shoes
- Entrance fees for sightseeing in Sofia:
- Shooting at Orthodox Cathedral St. Alexander Nevski
- The crypt of "St. Alexander Nevski " (Museum of Christian Art)
- National Contemporary and Foreign Art Gallery ("Square 500"),
- The Catacombs under the Basilica of St. Sofia
- National Ethnographic Museum
- National Archaeological Museum
- Ancient mosaics from the Roman era
- Museum of the History of Sofia
- The Synagogue
- National History Museum,
- Boyana church
- The Museum of History in the Rila Monastery
- The tower of hills in the Rila Monastery
- Museum of the monastery farm in the Rila Monastery
- Medi Valley Wine Tasting