MONASTERY TOUR - BULGARIA
(8 days / 7 nights)

Day 1. Arrival at Sofia airport. Transfer to a hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Day 2. Sofia - Rila monastery - Sandanski
After breakfast depart to Sandanski. On the way, visit to Rila monastery - the biggest and the most imposing of all Bulgarian monasteries. The place is invaluable treasure, included in the UNESCO list of the World Heritage. It houses fine works of National Revival painters, builders, woodcarvers and icon painters. Lunch in the local restaurant Sandanski. This place is believed to be the birth place of Spartacus. Accommodation in a hotel. Time at leisure. Dinner and overnight.

Day 3. Sandanski - Rozhen monastery - Bansko
After breakfast, a trip to the small town of Bansko. A stopover at the wonderful Rozhen monastery. The building is perched on the hill, surrounded by majestic, sandstone pyramids. Just next to Rozhen is the museum town of Melnik. Lunch in a Melnik tavern. Dinner in a folk style restaurant in Bansko. Overnight at a hotel.

Day 4. Bansko - Batchkovo monastery - Plovdiv
Early in the morning, drive to exquisite murals and medieval icons of Batchkovo monastery - a real gallery of the old Bulgarian art. Lunch at a local restaurant, further drive to Plovdiv. Check in at a hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Day 5. Plovdiv - Kazanlak - Etera - Gabrovo
After breakfast, drive to Kazanlak. Short sightseeing in the town and the Thracian tomb (UNESCO monument). Lunch in a local restaurant. Visit to the ethnographic museum of Etera - a place where most of the ancient Bulgarian arts and crafts can be seen in live. Gabrovo - accommodation in a hotel, dinner and overnight.

Day 6. Gabrovo - Drianovo monastery - Arbanassi
Visit to the Drianovo monastery. Next stopover is Arbanassi with its 5 churches and the beautiful houses with their solid walls, heavy gates, iron grids, richly decorated on the inside. Visit to the " Birth of Christ " church with its realistic figures and Biblical scenes. Lunch at a local restaurant. Accommodation in a hotel. Dinner. Overnight.

Day 7. Veliko Tarnovo - Troyan monastery - Sofia
After breakfast depart to Troyan monastery, nestled in the mountain. The well - preserved murals and wall paintings can be seen in the main church. Lunch on the way. Journey continues to its final stage. Accommodation in a hotel. Dinner. Overnight.