Hisarya and Pavel Banya: Spa Weekends in Sredna Gora

After Velingrad, Hisarya and Pavel Banya are two of Bulgaria's most popular spa towns. From a distance they look alike — warm water, hotels with pools, an hour or so from Plovdiv or Stara Zagora. In practice each suits a different weekend: Hisarya is a town to walk around inside Roman walls, and Pavel Banya is a five-star spa base in the Rose Valley with Shipka and Kazanlak 25 minutes away.

This guide takes the two one at a time, then covers how to get there from Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Sofia, and when it makes sense to combine them in one weekend.

---

♨️ Which one for which weekend

• Hisarya — if you want to get out of the hotel. The town sits inside the walls of Roman Diocletianopolis, and mineral water runs free from fountains in the parks.
• Pavel Banya — if the hotel spa is the point of the weekend, if you are coming from Stara Zagora or Kazanlak, or if you want a spa break plus a day in the Valley of Roses and at Shipka.

If you are still choosing between these two and Velingrad, Devin or Sapareva Banya, our spa and thermal springs guide compares them all.

---

🏛️ Hisarya: a Roman town with mineral fountains

What it is

Hisarya lies at the southern foot of Sredna Gora, 346 m above sea level. Emperor Diocletian granted it city status in 293 AD, hence the Roman name Diocletianopolis. The Romans came for the water: today the town has 22 mineral springs at roughly 31 to 51 °C. The best known is Momina Salza (about 42 °C); others include Momina Banya, Topilitsa (the hottest, about 51 °C), Bistritsa and Stublata.

The water is low in minerals and made for drinking — locals and visitors fill bottles at the fountains in the parks. What it is said to help with, and how much to drink, is a question for a doctor or the hotel's balneologist, not the sign by the tap.

What to see

• The fortress wall. Built in the late 3rd century, 2,327 m long and standing up to 11 m high in places. Walking its circuit is the best thing to do in Hisarya, and it costs nothing.
• The Kamilite gate. The southern gate and main entrance to the Roman town, 13 m high. The name ("the camels") comes from the two half-ruined arches that look like camel humps. It is open around the clock with no ticket.
• The Roman baths. In Momina Salza park, right by the spring — one of the few Roman baths in Europe preserved in places almost to the roof.
• The Roman tomb. A family tomb from the second half of the 4th century in Slaveev Dol park, about 300 m from the southern gate — the only one in Bulgaria with a mosaic floor.
• The Archaeological Museum. In the centre, with more than 4,000 objects from the Roman town and the area around it.

Excavations have also uncovered a barracks complex, an amphitheatre and ten early Christian basilicas, three of which are open to visitors.

Tickets and opening hours

Prices were checked in October 2026 and may change:

• Combined ticket for the museum, the Roman tomb and the Roman baths: €6.14 for adults, €3.07 for students and pensioners, and €12.27 for a family (two adults and two children under 16).
• Single sites: the museum and the Roman baths are €3.07 each (€1.53 reduced, €6.14 family); the Roman tomb is €2.56 (€1.53 reduced, €5.11 family).
• Guided talks at the museum or the Roman baths: €25.56 in English, €10.23 in Bulgarian.
• Guided tour of the archaeological reserve — 90 minutes through the walls, the Kamilite gate, the barracks, the early Christian basilica, a Roman house, the amphitheatre, the Roman baths and the imperial residence, for up to 20 people: €51.13 in English, €35.79 in Bulgarian. Entry to the Roman baths is paid on top.

The Archaeological Museum keeps winter hours of 8:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:30 and summer hours of 9:00–12:30 and 13:30–17:30 — note the lunch break. The walls and Kamilite have no opening hours.

---

🌹 Pavel Banya: a base in the Rose Valley

Pavel Banya is a small town (around 2,400 people) at the western end of the Kazanlak valley, between the Balkan range and Sredna Gora. It grew up after 1878 on the site of the Turkish village of Lüdja Ali — "hot bath" — and became a town in 1978.

The water. Nine natural springs at 50 to 61 °C. The water is low in minerals but contains radon and fluoride, so hotels route therapeutic treatments through a balneologist; swimming in the pool is a separate matter. There is a public pool in town, but we don't recommend it: the hotel pools are the better choice, and Pavel Banya has plenty of five-star hotels with excellent spas. That is the main reason to stay here rather than in Hisarya.

What is around it. From Pavel Banya it is about 25 minutes by car to:

• Kazanlak — the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak and its replica, the Rose Museum and the Iskra museum. More in our Kazanlak and Rose Valley guide.
• Shipka — the Shipka Memorial Church and the road up to Shipka Pass. See our Shipka Pass guide.
• The Valley of the Thracian Rulers — the tombs around Sheynovo and Shipka, including the Golyama Kosmatka mound. More in our Valley of the Thracian Kings guide.
• Koprinka Reservoir — a walk along the shore when you have had enough of the pool.

---

🚗 Getting there

By car

All roads are paved. From Plovdiv, Hisarya is across the flat Plovdiv plain — quick and easy. From Sofia to Pavel Banya you either go via Karlovo on the sub-Balkan road or take the Trakia motorway and turn north; your navigation app will pick based on traffic. Winter tyres are compulsory from 15 November to 1 March — more in our driving in Bulgaria guide.

By bus and train

• Hisarya: buses leave Plovdiv's Yug (South) bus station through the day, with fewer departures at weekends; the trip takes about an hour. There is also a train from Plovdiv, usually with a change at Dolna Mahala. The bus is simpler.
• Pavel Banya: the station is about 4 km north of town on the Sofia–Karlovo–Burgas line, and a minibus from the town bus station meets each train. Direct trains from Sofia have come and gone over the years — check the current timetable on the BDZ website before you plan around one.

Our getting around Bulgaria guide explains how to buy bus and train tickets.

---

🅿️ Parking

In central Hisarya, around the parks and the Kamilite gate, street parking is paid by SMS: one message buys an hour and costs €0.50 (checked October 2026). In Hisarya and Pavel Banya most spa hotels have their own car park — ask when you book whether it is included.

---

⏱️ How long you need

Two days and two nights in one base. For example:

• Hisarya + Karlovo. Saturday: the walls, Kamilite, the baths and the tomb, then the pool in the evening. Sunday: a last soak, then Karlovo — 30 minutes away — on the way home.
• Pavel Banya + Kazanlak. Saturday: arrive, pool, dinner at the hotel. Sunday: the Kazanlak tomb and the Rose Museum in the morning, Shipka in the afternoon, and leave before dark.
• Both. Spend the first day in Hisarya, then drive about an hour over Sredna Gora to Pavel Banya for the second night and on to Kazanlak or Stara Zagora. It works, but you will spend part of the weekend in the car.

---

📅 When to go

Both towns draw visitors all year — there is no dead season.

• November and the first half of December — the quietest time, and usually the cheapest on weekdays. A good window for a weekend for two.
• New Year — the peak for every Bulgarian spa town, with holiday packages and minimum stays; book months ahead.
• May–June — Pavel Banya has a second season when the roses in the valley bloom and are picked.
• Summer — it gets hot at the foot of Sredna Gora and hot mineral water is less tempting; walk in the morning and evening.

---

🏨 Where to stay

• Hisarya has the widest choice: from large spa hotels to family-run hotels and guest houses. Its advantage is that everything is walkable — you can stay somewhere cheaper without a pool and still walk to the parks and fountains.
• Pavel Banya is small, but has many hotels with mineral pools, including several five-star spa hotels. If you want a bigger town in the evening, Kazanlak is 25 minutes away.

A five-star spa hotel in either town costs about €150–300 a night for two (checked October 2026); four-star and smaller hotels cost less. Before booking, check whether the outdoor pool runs in winter and what is included — pool and sauna access is usually free for guests; treatments are charged separately.

---

👨‍👩‍👧 With kids

Hisarya is the easiest with children: flat paths, walls you can walk beside, and a gate that looks like camels. The Roman tomb is small and quick to see. Hotel pools in both towns suit all ages; in Pavel Banya, because of the radon, ask the hotel whether there is a separate children's pool and what their doctor recommends for small children. More ideas in our Bulgaria with kids guide.

---

🧭 What's nearby

• Karlovo — about 30 minutes from Hisarya and 40 from Pavel Banya. Vasil Levski's birthplace, with the national museum and the old town. See our Karlovo guide.
• Kalofer — on the road between Karlovo and Pavel Banya; Hristo Botev's town and home of Kalofer lace. Kalofer guide.
• Buzludzha Monument — above Kazanlak, for a day without rain or fog. Buzludzha guide.
• Koprivshtitsa and Panagyurishte — on the other side of Sredna Gora from Hisarya. Koprivshtitsa, Panagyurishte.

Only have a day from Plovdiv? See our day trips from Plovdiv. Leaving from Sofia and still deciding? Weekend getaways near Sofia compares ten overnight options, and a spa weekend in Velingrad is the closest alternative. From Stara Zagora, Pavel Banya is the nearest spa town.

---

💡 What first-timers get wrong

• Assuming Hisarya and Pavel Banya are next to each other. Sredna Gora is in between — about an hour's drive. Pick one base.
• Arriving at the Hisarya museum at lunchtime. It closes for an hour in the middle of the day.
• Skipping the walls. The walk along the Roman wall is free and the best thing in Hisarya.
• Going to the public pool in Pavel Banya. The hotel spas are far better — book a hotel with a pool instead.
• Treating Pavel Banya's radon water like an ordinary pool for hours. Follow the hotel's guidance on how long to stay in.

---

Plan your Sredna Gora spa weekend with Mestala.com.