Enjoy some of Europe’s finest butterfly watching, including Balkan specialities such as Balkan copper, outstanding raptor viewing in the Eastern Rhodopes, historic buildings and Roman architecture.
With 218 recorded species, Bulgaria’s butterfly fauna is among the richest in Europe outside the Mediterranean. We explore sites of interest in search of rarities, endemics and regional specialities including inky and Mediterranean skippers, lesser Bath white and olive bee hawkmoth. Many species, such as Apollo, have stable populations here. We also visit the Eastern Rhodopes, which many regard as Europe’s finest site for large raptors, in search of eagles, vultures and a host of smaller birds.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Arrive Sofia & transfer to Melnik
On arrival in Sofia, we drive south to Melnik, the smallest town in Bulgaria yet rich in history and home to unique sandstone pyramids that are formed by soil erosion.
On the drive we stop at Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is one of Bulgaria’s most significant cultural monuments.
We also stop to look for our first butterflies of the trip at Kresna Gorge, where we may be lucky and see the rare Frivaldsky’s white-banded grayling along with Krueper’s small white, iolas blue and Balkan marbled white among many others. The gorge is also an excellent birding site.
Accommodation: Bolyarka Hotel, 3-nights
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Days 2-3
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Butterfly & birding excursions around Melnik
During the two full days we spend in Melnik, we take time to explore the town, its surroundings and nearby Rozhen Monastery. We will be on the lookout for Hungarian glider, cardinal, nettle tree butterfly and lattice brown amongst other butterflies. The region’s birds include honey buzzard, lesser and middle spotted woodpeckers, subalpine warbler and blue rock thrush.
On one day we head to Kozhuh Hill, an extinct volcano that holds arid and rocky habitat with an abundance of natural mineral hot springs. Here we hope to see interesting butterflies such as powdered brimstone, Freyer’s purple emperor and inky skipper, and watch for birds including olivaceous warbler, hoopoe and long-legged buzzard.
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Days 4-5
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Western Rhodope Mountains
This morning we drive to our next base of Trigrad, a village in the western Rhodopes. En route we stop at the meadows of Popovi Livadi, which are full of flowering orchids, to search for mountain and clouded Apollo, common brimstone and Balkan fritillary. We make an additional stop at the nearby Roman Bridge to look for more butterflies.
On our full day in the area, we visit Trigrad Gorge, a dramatic location where huge cliffs tower above a deep and rocky valley where the river can be seen in the distance. Here we hope to spot Higgins’ anomalous blue along with the Apollo and the endemic Kolev’s anomalous blue. While exploring the gorge we may be lucky enough to see wallcreepers, along with a variety of woodpeckers including black, grey and great spotted, plus Alpine and pallid swifts.
Accommodation: Arkan Han Hotel, 2-nights
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Days 6-8
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Eastern Rhodope Mountains
Heading east to the town of Krumovgrad, our first stop is at the lakes of Smoljanski Ezera for butterfly watching. We then cross to the eastern side of the Rhodope Mountains, where the landscape changes to shrubby vegetation and sparse groves of broadleaf trees, providing the ideal conditions for birds of prey to flourish.
On one of the days we spend in the Eastern Rhodopes we visit Studen Kladenets, an area whose unusual landscape evokes the surface of the moon. Spending some time in the crater of an extinct volcano, we watch vultures and black stork soaring above us and should see many other birds of prey including golden, imperial, booted, lesser spotted and short-toed eagles, and long-legged buzzard. There will also be opportunities to look for smaller birds and discover yet more interesting butterflies.
As a contrast to the lunar landscape of Studen Kladenets we also visit the town of Madzharovo and surrounding area, which has a greener landscape of small deciduous woods dominated by oak trees. While still a good location to see large birds of prey including Egyptian, griffon and black vultures, we will be on the lookout for butterflies such as eastern pale clouded yellow, blue argus and eastern rock grayling.
Accommodation: Hotel Via, 3-nights
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Day 9:
Transfer to Sofia
This morning, after an early breakfast we depart for Sofia, where this itinerary comes to an end.
Please note: Please contact one of our travel consultants for more details on the recommended flights and other options for travelling to Sofia.
