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: 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.
A 308 km round trip from Asen - roughly 6 h 34 in the saddle. On the way it passes Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve, Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve and back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,000 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 22 km this is Bulgaria Shipka Pass Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
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 is where the day begins. Next is Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak.
In 1944 soldiers digging a shelter on the edge of Kazanlak broke into a small brick chamber and found themselves looking at some of the finest ancient paintings in the Balkans. The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, built in the fourth century BC for a ruler of the Thracians, has a narrow corridor leading to a round, beehive-shaped burial chamber, its dome covered with frescoes of a funeral feast: the dead man and his wife seated at a table, servants bringing gifts, horses and chariots racing around the top. The colours and the tenderness of the figures are extraordinary. It was listed by UNESCO in 1979.
Read the complete Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve.
Just above Karlovo, the Stara Reka tumbles out of the Balkan mountains through a steep gorge of beech and rock, and climbing alongside it you leave the town's lowland heat behind within minutes. The reserve that bears the river's name protects the upper part of that valley and forms part of the Central Balkan National Park, one of the largest protected areas in this part of Europe. Its ancient beech forests are included in the UNESCO listing that ties together primeval beech woods across the continent.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve. Next is Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve.
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, about halfway. Next is back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve sits at 175 km, about halfway. Next is back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak comes up about 286 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve closes the day.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve → Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak → Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak → Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.