Route: Sofia – Rila Monastery – Blagoevgrad-Sofia
Departure time: 8 am
Arrival time: 16 pm
Transportation: with comfortable vehicles for 1-50 passengers
Dates: 08.07-30.09.2017
Information about main landmarks of itinerary:
The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rilla, better known as the Rilla Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rilla Mountains, 117 km (73 mi) south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 feet) above sea level, inside of Rilla Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rilla (876 – 946 AD), and today houses around 60 monks.
Founded in the 10th century, the Rilla Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe. In 2008 alone, it attracted 900,000 visitors. The monastery is depicted on the reverse of the 1 lev banknote, issued in 1999.
Blagoevgrad is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of 70,881 inhabitants (as of 2011). It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River. The city is the economic and cultural center of southwestern Bulgaria. It is located in the valley of the Struma River at the foot of the Rilla Mountains, 101 kilometers (63 miles) south of Sofia, close to the border with the Republic of Macedonia. Blagoevgrad features a pedestrian downtown with preserved 19th-century architecture and numerous restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and boutiques. Blagoevgrad is home to two universities, the South-West University “Neofit Rilski” and the American University in Bulgaria. The city hosts also the “Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Humanitarian High School.
Sofia is capital and largest city of Bulgaria. 1.26 million people live in the city and 1.68 million people live in its metropolitan area. The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the center of the Balkan peninsula, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, whereas the Aegean Sea is the closest to it. Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC.Being Bulgaria’s primate city, Sofia is a hometown of many of the major local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies. Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for start-up business in the world, especially in information technologies. Sofia is Europe’s most affordable capital to visit as of 2013.
