Barely 3 percent of tourists in Bulgaria would opt for local villages. It turns out that not only foreigners, but Bulgarians too don’t know their own country very well. We are talking here the remote parts of the country with incredibly beautiful nature and old settlements with few elderly people left, still living in the past. Different projects for sustainable development of these areas have been recently prepared and successfully implemented with EU funding. Small family hotels or guest houses have appeared. Thus the Bulgarian village is gradually leaving its anonymity, revealing its colors and hospitality to the spelled traveler.

The recently released book, named Bulgaria’s Villages – Directions for Tourism and Culture, accentuates on that still hidden treasure. The authors view the separate regions, focusing their attention on the originality of Bulgarian villages and the experiences they offer to the curious guests. “Bulgaria is a small, colorful country with spots still unaffected by mass tourism that have preserved their authentic atmosphere, traditions and old time values. This is its advantage as a rural tourism destination,” says Gavrail Gavrilov, one of the authors of the unique book. The edition contains short stories, written with lots of humor and curious facts on our folklore and culinary traditions, related to certain, less familiar spots for rural tourism here. We also learn that rural tourism in Bulgaria means getting away from civilization without getting deprived from its comfort, spending time in a slower rhythm amidst magnetic nature landscapes. What else can the Bulgarian village offer?

“For instance, a sense of tradition, related to rose oil production and the growing of roses,” Mr. Gavrilov explains. “This product is offered at many spots across the Rose Valley as an attraction. Wine-making and the boom in wine tourism is another interesting thing, as well as the creation of some 100 small cellars throughout the country, offering options for wine tasting, grape picking, observation of the production process etc. We also see a potential for the development of rural tourism in the restoration of an old tradition – sericulture. Only a century ago Bulgaria was one of the leading producers and exporters of silk of the best quality. Unfortunately the business is almost dead today. However, tourists visit a museum in the municipality of Ivaylovgrad, still exposing the process. One should not forget our culinary traditions. People from the villages here have preserved an incredible variety of recipes. To say nothing on the bio products and the different ways for their cooking…”

The Bulgaria’s Villages – Directions for Tourism and Culture contains over 200 marvelous photographs, addresses of incredible resting spots, as well as pieces of advice on the practicing of rural tourism here. Being a keen traveler and connoisseur of the authentic rural standard of living, Gavrail Gavrailov strongly recommends the selection of the less popular, but picturesque and full of surprises corners of this country. The region of Dobrudja in North-East Bulgaria, to be more specific – the unknown village of Arbit, near the ancient fortress of Zalpada, is one of them.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev