CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Klisura it runs 540 km to Klisura; allow about 9 h 18 of riding. The stops in between: Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve, Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve, Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve and Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,000 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
High on the main ridge of the Balkan range, the Stara Planina, that runs across Bulgaria from west to east, the Kozya Stena reserve protects a wild landscape of limestone cliffs, beech forests and alpine meadows. Its name means goat wall, after the chamois that live on its crags. The reserve is part of Central Balkan National Park, one of the largest protected areas in Europe, and since 2017 its oldest beech stands have been inscribed alongside the primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and the rest of Europe. Wolves, bears and wild boar roam the forests, golden eagles soar over the ridges, and the meadows burst with wildflowers in early summer.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve.
Steneto is a deep, wild valley on the northern slopes of the Balkan range in central Bulgaria, enclosed by cliffs and covered in ancient beech forest, and it is one of the strict reserves of Central Balkan National Park, part of the Primeval Beech Forests World Heritage listing. Access is restricted, and nature is left to itself: old trees fall and rot, and the forest is home to bears, wolves, wild boar and a rich variety of birds, including several species of woodpecker and owl. The Cherni Osam river flows through the valley, and its clear waters are home to trout.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve.
Bulgaria's Balkan range gave the whole peninsula its name, and the central stretch is where it looks most like a proper mountain wall. The Severen Dzhendem reserve lies in the Central Balkan National Park, the high ridge that runs east to west above the Rose Valley. To the south the land drops towards Kalofer and Karlovo, and to the north it falls away into the foothills and the towns around Apriltsi and Troyan. The tallest peak in the range, Botev, rises to a little over 2,300 metres not far from here, and the high ground is grassy ridge, cliff and old beech and fir forest.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 148 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve. Next is Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve.
The Central Balkan National Park covers the high spine of the Stara Planina, the Balkan Mountains, which divide northern Bulgaria from the Thracian plain. Sokolna is one of the strict reserves within the park, on the steep southern slopes above Kalofer and Pavel Banya, where beech forests climb towards bare ridges and peaks. Its old beech woods are part of the World Heritage site of ancient beech forests, and the area is rich in wildlife, from bears and wolves to chamois and birds of prey.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve, about halfway. Next is Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve.
Above the little town of Kalofer, the southern wall of the Balkan range rises almost vertically, cut by deep gorges with waterfalls and covered in old beech and fir forest, and up there lies the Dzhendema reserve, one of the strict nature reserves within Central Balkan National Park. The name is said to come from a Turkish word for hell, a fair description of its steep, wild terrain. Above the reserve, Botev Peak, the highest summit of the Balkan mountains at 2,376 metres, stands at the heart of the park. Bears, wolves, chamois and wild goats roam these slopes, and the old beech forests of the park are part of the transnational World Heritage site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Europe.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve sits at 272 km, about halfway. Next is back through Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve comes up about 326 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 395 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve. Next is back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve, late in the day. Next is Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 540 km.
Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve → Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve is 81 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve → Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve → Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve is 81 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve → Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.