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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Rhodope Devin-Shiroka Laka Loop

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
45 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 08
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A dense sequence of passes, valleys and viewpoint roads. It also links naturally to Rhodope cultural landscape.

Access context

Verify pass condition, surface quality and local closures. Specific flag: weather.

Seasonal context

May-Oct

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Devin

    Most Bulgarians meet Devin first on a bottle label. Its mineral springs are bottled and sold in every corner shop in the country, and the small spa town that produces them lies in a tight green valley of the western Rhodopes, on the Vacha river, with steep slopes of pine and spruce rising on all sides. It is a mixed place, home to Christian Bulgarians and Pomaks, Bulgarian-speaking Muslims, and in summer it fills with holidaymakers soaking in the warm mineral pools of its spa hotels. Out of season it is very quiet indeed.

    Read the complete Devin write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Devin sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Smolyan.

  2. 2. Smolyan

    Smolyan is a town that does not quite know where it begins. It runs for roughly ten kilometres along the narrow valley of the Cherna river, a thin ribbon of houses and apartment blocks hemmed in by pine-covered slopes, because it was stitched together in the 1960s from several separate villages and never really filled in the gaps. It is the capital of the central Rhodopes and the largest town in these mountains, and once you accept its odd shape, the setting is superb: ridges on every side, forest climbing to the skyline, and the air noticeably fresher than down on the Thracian plain.

    Read the complete Smolyan write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Smolyan comes up 45 km in.

Recorded source links

Source

More motorcycle rides nearby