Stara Zagora

At the end of May, a heavy fragrance hangs over the valley between the Balkan Mountains and the Sredna Gora: this is when women pick the blossoms of the oil-bearing rose in the early morning hours. A trip to Stara Zagora leads you to Bulgaria's Rose Valley, to Thracian royal tombs, and to the Shipka Pass, a site of national remembrance.

Kazanlak and the Rose Valley

Kazanlak is the center of rose oil production, which has made Bulgaria famous around the world. The Rose Museum explains the distillation process, and in early June the town celebrates the Rose Festival with parades and the crowning of a Rose Queen. On the edge of town lies the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, dating from the 4th century B.C., whose frescoes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site; visitors tour a faithful replica. In the surrounding area, known as the Valley of the Thracian Kings, further burial mounds have been excavated, such as the tomb of Seuthes III near Shipka.

Sights in Stara Zagora Province

Above the village of Shipka, the gilded domes of the Russian Memorial Church gleam, and farther up the road leads to the Shipka Pass. Here stands the Freedom Monument, commemorating the battles of 1877 in the Russo-Turkish War; after about 900 steps, you are rewarded with a sweeping view over the Balkan Mountains. Stara Zagora itself is a city with broad linden-lined avenues, a Roman forum with a small theater, and the Museum of the Neolithic Dwellings, which holds some of the best-preserved finds of its kind in Europe. Pavel Banya is a spa town with warm mineral springs. Not far away lies Koprinka Reservoir. Besides archaeological sites, the province offers natural attractions: hiking trails wind through the forests of the Sredna Gora north of Stara Zagora, leading to mountain huts and viewpoints, and Ayazmoto Park above the city is a popular destination with pavilions and views over the plain. Near Chirpan, the hometown of the poet Peyo Yavorov, vineyards and vegetable fields spread across the countryside.

Cuisine, Getting There, and Best Time to Visit

Roses are turned into jam, liqueur, and cosmetics; otherwise, the table is set with dishes of the Thracian Plain such as gyuvech and kavarma, accompanied by red wine from the area around Stara Zagora. The city lies on the Trakia Motorway and on the rail line to Burgas, and Kazanlak is on the Sofia–Karlovo–Burgas line. The best time to visit is late May to early June during the rose bloom, as well as September.