In early June the air around Kazanlak smells faintly of roses, and it is no marketing trick. The town of about fifty-five thousand sits in a broad valley between the Balkan range to the north and the lower Sredna Gora to the south, and the fields here have for centuries been planted with the damask rose, whose petals are picked at dawn and distilled into oil that perfumers buy by the gram. The Rose Festival, held in the first weekend of June, fills the streets with parades and folk dancing and a general air of cheerful chaos.
The town carries more history than its modern concrete suggests. On its edge is the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, from the fourth century BC, a small beehive chamber painted with vivid scenes of a funeral feast, and it is on the UNESCO list. The original is closed to protect the paintings, but an exact replica stands nearby and is worth the visit. The Thracians were master horsemen and goldsmiths who ruled this region before the Romans, and the valley is dotted with burial mounds that have yielded splendid treasures.
North of town the road climbs into the Balkan range toward the Shipka Pass, which reaches about 1,185 metres. The ascent winds through beech forest in a long series of bends, with good tarmac in most places and a few patches that suffer from frost damage. At the top stands a huge stone memorial to the 1877 to 1878 battles, in which Russian and Bulgarian volunteers held the pass against Ottoman attacks during the war that led to Bulgarian independence. The monument on Stoletov peak is reached by a long staircase, and the view south over the valley of roses is wide. Near the foot, the church of the Nativity, with its gold-topped domes, belongs to the Russian monastery at Shipka and glitters through the trees.
Fuel is easy, as Kazanlak is a real town with several stations, supermarkets and cafes. Bulgarian food is simple and good, with shopska salad, grilled meat and a very strong coffee, and prices are modest.
The pass can be wet and foggy at any time, and snow closes it in deep winter. The best months are May, June and September, when the days are warm and the valley is green.