Top Things To Do and See in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria - Travel Bulgaria
Top Things To Do and See in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria - Travel Bulgaria
Veliko Turnovo - Unique Holiday Experience in Bulgaria
Veliko Turnovo is situated in central Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains. It is spread over the historical hills of Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora, towering over the wide curves of the Iantra river. The city is more than 7000 years old. Veliko Tarnovo impresses with its original renaissance architecture - antique houses, situated one above another, towers, splendid museums, and monasteries with icon-paintings that attract tourists from all over the world. Capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Turnovo offers some of the most abundant and important cultural and historic attractions in Bulgaria. It also offers lively modern night life and nature with great opportunities for sports and rest.
Veliko Tarnovo has a rich historical past. The first clues for life date back to the 3rd millennium b.c. The first inhabitants were the Thracians and their settlement existed until the end of the Bronze Age. The next inhabitants were the Byzantines. A big Slav settlement was situated here during the VIII a.c. The Old-Bulgarian settlement appeared during the IX c. and during the X c. the hills Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora were already richly populated. The brothers Asen and Peter organized successfully a revolt against Byzantine rule in 1187 and declared Veliko Tarnovo the capital of Bulgaria. Turnovo became a well-fortified city and a significant political, administrative, economic and cultural center in Europe during the next 200 years. The contemporaries referred to it as the The Second Constantinople and The Third Rome.
The most important remnant of these times is the archaeological preserve Tsarevets, a restored fortress that surrounds the hill Tsarvets. One of the main attractions of the fortress is the Baldwin towers where the Latin Emperor Baldwin was captured and locked during the crusade in the early 1200's. The palace of the Bulgarian tsars was a self-contained fortress with the fabulous Throne Hall and the palace church St. Petka. The Bulgarian patriarchate was situated on the highest place within the fortress. In recent years, the fortress has received further acclaim with a Lights and Sound show - a program that combines sound and light effects to reproduce the history of the old Bulgarian capital.
Venturing beyond the fortress walls, one enters a historical preserved neighborhood with winding narrow cobblestones lined with craft shops, cafes, restaurants and boutique hotels. One can admire the numerous fully renovated Renaissance houses in a typical Bulgarian style, interspersed with ancient ruins and churches. The Gurko street and the ethnographic complex Samovodska Charshia reveal a great variety of Renaissance houses that seem to have landed on top of each other, with sheer views over the Iantra river. The Sarafkina house, built in 1861, is a particularly beautiful sample.
There is much to do around Veliko Turnovo as well including fourteen monasteries built during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in XII - XIV c. Many of them were destroyed during the Ottoman rule and were renovated by the self-educated Bulgarian architect and builder Kolio Ficheto and wall-painted by Zohari Zograf during XIX c. One of the largest is the Preobrajenski monastery that was founded at the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom during XIII - XIV c. by queen Sara, wife of Tsar Ivan Alexander. It had an important role for the spiritual life of the capital. It is situated 6km from Veliko Tarnovo in a beautiful area with vertical rocks in the canyon-like gorge of the Iantra River.
Turnovo has much to offer for people interested in history and architecture but it is also a very vibrant, energetic town with long pedestrian areas, restaurants, shops, and cafes. It is a favorite destination for Bulgarians of all ages and interests as well as international tourists.
Curious? You can look through the following listing of hotels and B&B's: [ Turnovo Holidays. You will not be disappointed.
Stefan Valev writes regular columns about holiday destinations in Bulgaria.
Article Source: [ Veliko Turnovo - Unique Holiday Experience in Bulgaria
Photo Credit
Music By:
Pilots Of Stone by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
Hotnitsa Waterfalls, Gorge and Eco-trail. Veliko Turnovo. Places to visit in Bulgaria.
One of the best waterfalls in Bulgaria.
The waterfalls, gorge and eco-trail just outside the village of Hotnitsa, Bulgaria.
A true natural wonder.
Emen Canyon, Bulgaria / Еменски каньон, България
Exploring the Emen Canyon in Bulgaria. The canyon is located near Emen Village in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Bulgaria. The river Negovanka flows right through the village, through the Emen Canyon and ends up in the Mihaltsi dam situated about 5 km north of the village. The canyon is formed in Palaeolithic times by the river. The flowing water carved a gorge which at some places is very tight and deep, so a human can't go down to the bottom without a special equipment.
The Emen Canyon was declared a Natural Monument in 1980. As a result, some human activities like lumbering and driving motor vehicles are prohibited on the 25.5 hectare area of the Natural Monument. It partially overlaps with another Natural Monument - the Momin Skok one, which encompasses a small area around the waterfall of the same name.
One of the first eco paths in Bulgaria passes through the Emen Gorge on its way to the Momin Skok Waterfall. Unfortunately a part of the eco path is forbidden for walking because authorities decide that it's too dangerous. The Emen cave is located at the very beginning of the eco path. With its length of 3,113 meters, it is the 17th longest cave in Bulgaria. This has made it suitable for all kinds of human activities during the years. It has consecutively been used to grow mushrooms and mature cheese. In Communist times it even became an arms depot of a military base located immediately above it. Currently, human presence in the cave is, at least officially, restricted to allow for bats to breed uninterrupted.
My advise is to visit Emen Canyon in the spring, when the river is full with water and the vegetation around is full of green colors. Probably in the autumn the Canyon should be also very beautiful, when the trees are tinted in yellow, orange or even red colors, but personally I prefer the spring. As you can see in the video, we have visited the canyon in the early spring (the end of March), so unfortunately for us the trees were not become fully green.
-------------------------------------------------------
Разходка из Еменския каньон в България. Каньонът се намира в близост до с. Емен в област Велико Търново, само на 20 км западно от града. Река Негованка преминава през самото село, продължава своя път през Еменския каньон и се озовава в язовир Михалци, намиращ се на около 5 км северно от селото. Каньонът се е формирал в палеолитната епоха от реката. Течащата вода издълбава дефиле, което на места е толкова тясно и дълбоко, че човек не може да спусне надолу към дъното, без специална екипировка и катерачески умения.
Еменския каньон е обявен за природна забележителност през 1980 г. В резултат на това някои човешки дейности като дърводобива и управлението на моторни превозни средства са забранени в зоната от около 25,5 хектара около каньона. Това частично се припокрива с друга природна забележителност - водопадът Момин скок.
Една от първите еко пътеки в България преминава през Еменското дефиле по пътя си към гореспоменатия водопад - Момин скок. За съжаление част от екопътеката е закрита тъй като е обявена за прекалено опасна. В самото начало на каньона и на екопътеката пък се намира и пещерата Емен. Със своята дължина от 3,113 метра, тя е 17-тата по дължина пещера в България. Характера на пещерата е дал възможност да се използва за различни цели през годините. В началото е използвана за отглеждане на гъби и зряло сирене. В комунистическите времена дори е превърната в оръжейно депо на военна база, разположена непосредствено над нея. В момента, човешко присъствие в пещерата поне официално е ограничено, с оглед да се даде възможност да се размножават обитаващите я прилепи.
Съветвам ви да посетите Еменският каньон през пролетта, когато реката е пълна с вода и растителността наоколо е изпъстрена с зелени цветове. Вероятно през есента това уникално място би било много красиво, когато дърветата са обагрени в жълто, оранжево или дори червени цветове. Аз лично обаче предпочитам пролетта. Както можете да видите във видеото, ние посетихме каньона в началото на пролетта (края на м. Март) и за съжаление растителността наоколо все още не се беше раззеленила напълно.
Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
Music provided by Audio Library
Veliko Tarnovo (Велико Търново) Bulgaria
Devil’s Bridge and Waterfalls | Adventure Tour From Plovdiv | Top 10 Things To Do Around Plovdiv
The most adventurous hiking trail in Bulgaria. Devil’s Bridge and Waterfall trail is located in the gorgeous Buynovsko Canyon (gorge) some 100 km from Plovdiv. The path goes through the canyon and on times is literally above the river. Not for the -faint-hearted but perfect for all who love a good adventure.
For more info:
Canyoning Emen Bulgaria
Find more outdoor adventures at
The Krushuna Waterfalls Bulgaria | Крушунските Водопади България
The Krushuna Waterfalls Bulgaria 2018
Крушунски Водопади България
Krushunski Waterfalls
Song:
Cash - Promise
Music provided by: HearWeGo | Copyright Free Music
Link:
Emen gorge Bulgaria - Emen kloof Bulgarije
Op 8km van Veliko Tarnovo, de oude hoofdstad van Bulgarije ligt de Emen kloof. Na een ecotrail van een uurtje kom je uit aan de waterval die er helemaal voor jou alleen is. Meer info op: vakantieplekje.be
Canyoning Emen Bulgaria
Find more adventuers on
Bulgarian caves and waterfalls
The eyes of God cave (Prohodna cave), Kroshuna waterfalls, trip around Lovech, Bulgaria