South-Central Bulgaria

South-Central Bulgaria spans the Rhodope Mountains and the Thracian plain, covering the oblasts of Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Smolyan, Kardzhali, and Haskovo. It is a region of contrasts — Roman-era Plovdiv sits on the plain, while the Rhodope villages of Shiroka Laka and Kovachevitsa nestle in deep forested valleys only an hour's drive south.

Plovdiv — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe — is the obvious base, with a Roman theatre, Ottoman mosques, and a revival-era old town. The Rhodopes add folklore villages, dramatic karst caves at Devil's Throat and Yagodina, the Bachkovo Monastery, and the spa towns of Devin and Velingrad.