| Duration: | 4 Hour(s) - 0 Minute(s) |
| Tour Category: | Walking Tour |
Visit Bulgaria’s Rose Valley, famous for the best rose oil in the world. You will also discover the Valley of the Thracian Kings on a visit to the Golyama Kosmatka tomb and much more on this exciting tour.
About this Activity:
Duration 4 hours
Printed or mobile vouchers accepted
Instant confirmation
Pick-up service
Pick-up from your hotel in Kazanlak.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT ROSE VALLEY OF BULGARIA:
The Rose Valley is the area where the biggest rose plantations and the main rose-oil facilities are located. Every year in June, a month-long Rose Festival takes place there, one of the best times for nature and culture lovers to visit Bulgaria. Bulgaria is one of the biggest rose-oil producers in the world and a country that has been closely related to the beautiful flower for centuries.
For centuries, the Rose Valley has been a rose-growing area of great importance. The rose oil produced from the special variety Rosa Damascena was used for women’s beauty products and perfumes. Today, the rose is one of the symbols of Bulgaria and attracts visitors from all over the world, especially from Japan where the rose is also culturally important. It is said that the Rosa Damascena was brought from Syria to Europe by the crusader Robert de Brie in the mid-13th century.
The cultivation of the Damascena and its production in Kazanlak began shortly after the town was founded (in 1420).
Another use of oil is to produce pharmaceutical products. It can also be used in culinary. The food tastes like roses!
To the north of the valley, the mighty Balkan Mountains (or as we call them Stara Planina – play the role of mighty stone titans who defend the valley from the cold northern winds. On the south, the not-so-mighty yet charming Sredna Gora (middle forest) spreads its hills and both mountains create a kind of magical, cozy atmosphere that protects this sacred land from the outside world.
The Best Time to Visit
Definitely, the best time to observe the rose-picking process and to see the rose fields is from the end of May to the end of June. Usually, the Rose Festival takes place across four weekends in June with rose-picking rituals crafted for tourists taking place in a different village every weekend. At these early-morning events, you can actually join the rose-picking process yourself. This is when you can visit a rose essential oil distillery and see the process that follows after the blossoms have been collected.
How to Get There
The main stops in the Rose Valley are Kazanlak and Karlovo, with Strelcha, Pavel Banya, and Gurkovo being other rose-producing towns but with fewer or no other attractions for the visitors. All of these towns are easily (and cheaply) accessible by train from Sofia and Plovdiv (check the schedules on the website of the Bulgarian State Railways) or by bus. If you want to visit the valley as a day trip, it’s better to start off early in the morning because the trip takes three hours. The best option is to plan an overnight in Kazanlak or Karlovo to have more time to explore.
