Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Sofia
Arrival and transfer from Sofia airport to the hotel for overnight.
Day 2: Golyam Izvor - Glozene Monastery - Golyam Izvor
Transfer from Sofia to Golyam Izvor village in the Teteven Balkan (one-hour drive). Here you get acquainted with your horses. You start riding heading North through meadows and mixed beech and oak forest. You will ascend Mt Lissets above the village where you will see the first beautiful view of the central ridge of Stara Planina and the town of Teteven surrounded by rocky peaks.
Then, you go through an ancient beech forest at the end, where Glozhene Monastery is located. Perched on a high rock, it reveals an even more spacious view of the Danube plain. After visiting the church and the little museum, you start riding back to Golyam Izvor following another trail. Overnight in a guest house.
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Riding: 4 - 5 hours
Day 3: Golyam Izvor - Chertigrad - Yamna
The ride today goes southwest following in the beginning a short asphalt road. Then continues along a dirt road with possibilities for some trot and canter. You pass the small deserted village of Slatina before you start climbing among ferns and pasture land.
After 3.5 hours in the saddle you reach Chertigrad where you stop for lunch. Chertigrad is an ancient fortress built by the Thracians in 4 - 3rd century BC. There is not much left of the fortress but the place offers stunning views over the Balkan range.
You arrive in the village of Yamna after another 1.5-hour ride South-West. You leave the horses in Yamna village and have a short transfer to Lopian village. Dinner and overnight in a guest house.
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Riding: 5 - 6 hours
Day 4: Yamna - Paskal Hut
Today you are heading to the crest of Central Balkan to join for the next two days one of the longest European mountain trails Kom-Emine. Stay at Svishtiplaz hut for overnight.
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Riding: 6 - 7 hours
Day 5: Paskal Hut - Momina Polyana Hut
The next two days you will spend riding through the Central Balkan National Park thus providing a superb view towards the Thracian Plain to the South and the Balkan Mountains to the North. Good possibilities for canter crossing the grass highland. You follow the way marking E-3 at an altitude of 1500 - 1900m. Overnight in Momina Polyana Hut (1640m).
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Riding: 5 - 6 hours
Day 6: Momina Polyana - Cherni Vit - Teteven
You leave the high mountain trail E-3 descending through thick beech and oak forests and pasture land along the Cherni Vit River. On some steeper descents, you have to dismount and lead the horses. Your ride will end in the village of Cherni Vit (800m) early in the afternoon where your vehicle is waiting and after a short drive, you reach the cozy town of Teteven where you stay overnight. You can enjoy the rest of the day by the hotel pool or exploring the town.
- Breakfast and lunch
- Riding: 6 hours
Day 7: Teteven - Cherni Vit - Golyam Izvor. Back to Sofia
In the morning transfer back to Cherni Vit, where you have left the horses the previous day. On this last day of ride, you will climb once more one of the many ridges from where you will have a last look of the scenery you have admired in the past week. You say goodbye to the horses and guides in the village of Golyam Izvor. Transfer back to Sofia (1 hour) for overnight.
- Breakfast and lunch
- Riding: 5 hours
Day 8: Departure
Transfer to Sofia airport and departure.
Good to know:
Horses: Most of the horses are crossbreeds between the local East-Bulgarian and Karakachan with a mid-height of 150 cm, they are well known as thoughtful and tough and are thus extremely well-adapted to the mountainous region of the Stara Planina (Balkan). The maximum weight limit of the riders is 100 kg.
Saddles: Western and English. A riding helmet is not mandatory. Luggage is carried by a pack horse from day 4 to 6, the other days by car. The weight limit is 10 kg in a soft bag.