Bulgaria is situated in South Eastern Europe and occupies the central part of the Balkan Peninsula on both sides of the Balkan mountain range from which the peninsula has taken its name. The country’s total territory is 110 000 sq. km (43 000 sq. miles).
To the north, the border with Romania passes alongside river Danube. To the west Bulgaria borders with Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Greece and Turkey are the neighbours to the south and to the East Bulgaria is washed by the Black Sea, which links the country also with Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.
Capital: Sofia 1.2 million. Major cities: Plovdiv – 369 000; Varna - 350 000. Climate: Continental - mild summers and cold, snowy winters. Population (Est. 2002): 7,845,841. Growth rate (Est. 2002): -5.8 (on basis of 1,000 people). Ethnic groups (Est. 2001): Bulgarian 83.94%, Turkish 9.42%, Roma 4.68%, and others. Religions (Est. 2001): Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 0.6%, Protestant 0.5%, others. Language: Bulgarian (official).
Bulgarian Sea Coast
The total length of the sea coast is 360 km (230 Miles), and forms a creation of marvellous beaches, a calm and safe sea, clear water and fresh air, fine golden sands and natural dunes, hot mineral water springs and wells, Blue Flag award winning resorts, holiday villages and campsites. Average air temperature on the coast in the summer is about 28°C, water temperature - 25°C. There are more than 240 hours of sunshine in May and September and more than 300 hours in July and August. The two international airports of Varna and Bourgas connect the Bulgarian Riviera with the rest of the world.
Northern Black Sea Coast
Clean and calm sea with shallow sloping sandy bottom, wide beaches with fine grain golden sand, venerable forest and numerous mineral springs. All these features makes the Northern Black Sea coast an attractive place for Bulgarian and foreign holiday makers. Even the most refined requirements will be satisfied by the modern resorts of Zlatni Piassatsi (Golden Sands), Albena, Roussalka, Riviera, Slanchev Den (Sunny Day), St.Konstantin and Elena. The greatest fans of natural beauty and historical places can find peace in the Balchik Botanical Garden or the museum at Kaliakra horn. The main city of the Northern Black Sea coast is Varna, which is also known as the sea capital of Bulgaria.
Southern Black Sea Coast
Picturesque bays and whimsical rocks, spacious beaches with sand dunes and a warm sea creates the Bulgarian Southern Black Seacoast. Wonderful nature in combination with modern construction - this is the magic of the holiday villages of Elenite, Sunny Beach, Nessebur and Sozopol. To the north the farthest spurs of the Balkan range border the long and indented coastline. Even nowadays the unique culture in Strandzha is a part of attitudes and habits of Ahtopol, Tsarevo, Kiten and Primorsko. In restaurants and bars the unique artistic atmosphere of the Strandzha fire-dances enchants foreign tourists
Mineral Springs
Bulgaria has more than 500 deposits of mineral waters with over 1,600 water sources. These are localised chiefly at the mountain foothills. The spa resorts of national significance are Bankya, Sandanski, Velingrad, the mineral baths of Narechen, Sliven, Stara Zagora, and Haskovo, as well as Kostenets, Kyustendil, Merichleri, Momin Prohod, Pavel Banya, Hissarya and Varshets. Seaside resorts offering various recreation services are Albena, Balchik, Bourgas, Kiten, Nessebur (Slantchev Bryag – Sunny beach), Pomorie, Primorsko, Sozopol and Varna (Zlatni Pyassatzi – Golden sands). Picturesque lakes hide in the folds of the Rila and Pirin mountain ranges. Reservoirs of recreational potential are to be found in the Rhodope Mountains – namely Batak, Studen Kladenets, Vatcha at the foot of the Balkan range – Ticha, as well as in some other places. There are good opportunities for the development of adventure tourism: wild waters– rafting and canoe, diving, delta and para gliding in the river valleys of Chepelarska, Iskar, Mesta, Struma and Vatcha rivers.
UN World Heritage Sites of Bulgaria
The geographical situation and the rich historical past of Bulgaria have turned its small area of 110 000 sq.km into a superb preserve of cultural heritage, which reflects the development and interaction of different cultures and civilizations, that have mixed here.
Bulgaria takes an active part in the international Convention for protection of the world heritage sites, signed in 1975 under the UN. There are nine Bulgarian Treasures, which are registered in the List of the UN World Heritage Sites (established by the Convention) and are a great place to visit!
Madara Horseman
The Madara Horseman, represents the figure of a knight (horseman) triumphing over a lion,pierced by a spear and agonizing at the horses feet, and is carved into a 100-m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north- east Bulgaria. Madara was the principal sacred place of the First Bulgarian Kingdom before Bulgaria's conversion to Christianity in the 9th century. The inscriptions at the side of the sculpture are in Greek and give information about Bulgarian Rulers and events that occurred between 705 and 801 A.D. The Madara Horseman
The Thracian Tomb of Kazanluk
The tomb dates from the Hellenistic period and was built around the end of the 4th century B.C. near the ancient Thracian town of Sevtopolis, capital city of King Seutes III, and is part of a large Thracian necropolis. The tholos has a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing Thracian burial rituals and culture. These paintings remarkable for their realistic, dainty line and psychological insight are one of the top achievements of the synthesis between the Hellenic and native Thracian artistic traditions.
Ivanovo Rock Monastery
In the valley of the River Roussenski Lom, near the village of Ivanovo (north-east Bulgaria), there are rock-cut (hewn by hand) churches, chapels and cells, which are a part of a whole monastery complex. The natural recesses in the cliffs are used in their original appearance (or after an additional recreation work) and are connected through corridors and lofts. The preserved mural paintings from 13th – 14th centuries in four of the churches as well as the superscriptions, testify for the close connections between the monastery, the painters themselves and the city of Turnovo, which at that time had been the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.
The Boyana Church
Located on the outskirts of Sofia, The Boyana Church is the only building preserved from the Boyana Fortress, that existed during the Middle Ages near Sofia. It consists of three parts very different in style. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two-storey building to be erected next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. A third church built at the beginning of the 19th century completes the ensemble. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.
Ancient City of Nessebur
Situated on a small, rocky peninsula in the Black Sea, the city of Nessebar represents an ancient history of more than 3000 years. In the 10th century B.C was known as the Thracian village of Mesembria. At the beginning of the 6th century B.C., the city became a Greek colony. In the Middle Ages round about the 9th-14th centuries B.C it was an important economical and cultural centre of Bulgaria, and an original representative of architecture and town-planning during the period of the Bulgarian National Revival in the 19th century.
The city's remains, which date mostly from the Hellenistic period, include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, an agora and a wall from the Thracian fortifications. Among other monuments, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea. Wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical of the Black Sea architecture of the period.
Rila Monastery
It was founded in the 10th century by the monk-hermit Ivan Rilski (St. John of Rila) and had a very important role in the intellectual and political life of Bulgaria during the Middle Ages. After the establishment of the Ottoman Rule the monastery quickly falls into decay, but in the 15th century it is resrored and inhabited again and becomes a stronghold of the Bulgarian national spirit and culture. During the 19th century The Rila Monastery is enlarged and renovated with the help of the whole nation and the most prominent Bulgarian craftsmen builders and painters. Considered a cultural monument of international significance the most notable parts of the monastery are The Tower of Hrelyo, The Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa (St. Mery Mother of Jesus), The Museum, The Library, The Kitchen, The Grave of Ivan Rilski, The Pchelino Nunnery etc.
Pirin National Park
The Park spreads over an area of 27,400 hectares and is situated at 1000 to 2915 m height above the sea level in the Pirin mountains (south-west Bulgaria). Pirin National Park has a limestone Balkan landscape, with lakes, waterfalls, caves and pine forests. The mountines, with some 70 glacial lakes scattered throughout it, are home to hundreds of plant and animal rare species (some no longer found elsewhere in Europe), many of which are representative of the Balkan Pleistocene flora. The matchless landscapes, the falls and the Karst formations add to the reason why the park is announced to be an unique natural treasure with international value.
Sreburna Nature Reserve
The Nature Reserve is situated near the Danube town of Silistra and covers an area of 600 hectares in the freshwater lake of Sreburna, which is surrounded by a buffer zone wide 200 m. It is the breeding ground of almost 100 species of birds, many of which are rare or endangered. Some 80 other bird species migrate and seek refuge there every winter. Among the most interesting bird species are the Dalmatian pelican, great egret, night heron, purple heron, glossy ibis and white spoonbill. The lake is declared a biospheric preserve and is registered in the list of the humid zones, in accordance with the international Convention.
The Thracian Tombs of Sveshtari
Discovered in 1982 near the village of Sveshtari, this 3rd- century B.C. Thracian tomb is the finest one yet discovered in Bulgaria and reflects the fundamental structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The tomb has a unique architectural decor, with polychrome half-human, half-plant caryatids and painted murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the central chamber and the decoration of the lunette in its vault are the only examples of this type found so far in the Thracian lands. It is a remarkable reminder of the culture of the Getes, Thracian people who were in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean worlds, according to ancient geographers.
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Varna
Successor to ancient civilizations, survivor of the transformations of time, the present-day city of Varna is one of the most attractive Bulgarian towns, the Pearl of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast - as it is called for good reasons.
Bulgarian Sea Coast
Madara Horseman
The Thracian Tomb of Kazanluk 
Ivanovo Rock Monastery 
The Boyana Church 
Ancient City of Nessebur 
Rila Monastery 
Pirin National Park 
Sreburna Nature Reserve 
The Thracian Tombs of Sveshtari