Overview
This five day, centre-based tour, walking in the Rhodope Mountains, follows a self-guided itinerary along trails in and around Trigrad, with three full days of hiking. Trigrad is a traditional mountain village, at an elevation of 1,240m, and from your three-star family-run hotel, you get to explore superb Rhodopian landscapes famous for their limestone gorges, caves and prolific forests. Treks along ancient trails include the visit to the village of Kesten, Devil’s Throat Cave and Orpheus Peak (1,532m). This is an easy to moderate walking holiday and It’s also very popular with solo travellers. The trip includes complimentary transfers to and from Sofia Airport.
- Rhodope Mountains
- Devil’s Throat Cave
- Trigrad Gorge
- Orpheus Peak
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Trigrad
Your tour begins with a complimentary transfer from Sofia Airport to the village of Trigrad (4h), located in the heart of the Rhodope Mountains and your base for the next few days. Depending on arrival time, take the opportunity to wander around the village, taking in the dramatic scenery that surrounds the area.
- Accommodation: Arkan Han or similar
Day 2: Vodni Pad | 10km
Begin the first day of hiking with a warm-up walk, following a shaded path towards Vodni Pad, with plenty of water fountains and opportunities to rest along the way. Formally a restricted area during the Communist period due to its proximity to the Greek border, today, the village of Vodni Pad is now becoming a very lively place for local people and visitors alike. In the afternoon, you can visit Devil’s Throat Cave and explore its vast underground caverns. The cave’s entrance resembles a devil’s head and inside, a waterfall rushes down the cave’s throat, giving rise to many legends, the most popular being that Orpheus descended through this hole to the underground kingdom of Hades to seek his lost love, Eurydice.
- Walking for the day: 10km, 3h, ↑280m, ↓280m
- Accommodation: Hotel Arkan Han or similar
Day 3: Kesten | 17km
Today’s circular route starts with an ascent to a ridge to the east of Trigrad before descending towards the village of Kesten, close to the Greek border, with an optional detour to Zhrebevo. Both villages are largely uninhabited, leaving them relatively unspoiled and still surrounded by Rhodopian natural heritage.
- Walking for the day: 17km, 5-6h, ↑736m, ↓733m
- Accommodation: Hotel Arkan Han or similar
Day 4: Orpheus Peak (1,532m) | 7km
Today’s route is a shorter but steeper hike to the top of Orpheus Peak overlooking the village of Trigrad, with far-reaching views over the surrounding area. From here, you descend back into Trigrad, where you can spend the final evening relaxing in one of the local restaurants.
- Walking for the day: 7km, 2-3h, ↑500m, ↓500m
- Accommodation: Hotel Arkan Han or similar
Day 5: Departure
Departure after breakfast and complimentary airport transfer.
What to expect
Accommodation
Accommodation on this centre-based tour is in a three-star family-run hotel with private en-suite rooms. Accommodation is carefully selected based on a variety of criteria, including their location, warm hospitality, fine local food or commitment to responsible tourism.
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Hotels are subject to availability. In the event of a particular hotel being fully booked for your chosen dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation.
Meals
Breakfast is included on all days. When no restaurant location is available en route, lunches and snacks can either be bought from local shops or packed lunches can be pre-ordered from your hotel the night before. Dinner is available either at the accommodation or from restaurants in the local area.
Difficulty and terrain
This tour is rated easy-moderate and is suitable for regular walkers with a reasonable level of fitness. The trip covers an average of 11km daily and involves gradual ascents and descents with an average elevation gain of 506m each day (read more about difficulty grades).
We strongly advise you to only follow marked trails and never try to shorten the path through unknown and unmarked terrain. We will provide you with detailed route notes and maps and you can call our 24/7 local assistance phone number anytime. More detailed information on route navigation will be included in your holiday information pack.
When to go
This trip is available from May to October.
The flexibility of self-guided holidays means there are no fixed dates, meaning you can start your holiday at any time in the season.
The region’s climate is influenced by colder air from the north and the warmer breeze from the Mediterranean. Depending on location and altitude, temperatures vary, but high summer daytime temperatures are rarely too hot as, even though temperatures can occasionally reach 30C, the mountains and forests remain cooler, dropping at night to between 5-15C. For more information, see our blog, Best time to go to Bulgaria.
Getting there
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By plane
Our recommended airport for this trip is Sofia.
Inclusions
Included
- 4 overnights in a three-star hotel as listed in the itinerary
- 4 breakfasts
- Internal ground transfers listed in the programme
- Digital pre-departure holiday information pack including GPS-checked and regularly updated route descriptions and maps (Please note, that the information pack for this tour is digital only and will be emailed to you prior to departure. Physical documents are not able to be mailed or provided on-site)
- 24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative
Excluded
- Airfare and connecting land transfers
- Lunches, dinners, drinks and snacks
- Travel insurance (required – get a quote online)
- Personal expenses
- Entry fees (payable locally)
- Any items not explicitly listed as included
- eSIM data for international travel (get an eSIM)
Options, extras and supplements
- If you’re travelling in a group, a supplement applies to group members who would like to have a room of their own
- This holiday is available for solo travellers. However, a supplement will be charged as the cost of rooms and also luggage or private transfers (when applicable) is not shared. Please note that solo travellers are always accommodated in their own room. For logistical reasons, we don’t offer an option for solo travellers to share rooms with other solo travellers.
- Extra nights in Sofia
