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.
A 296 km round trip from Karlovo - roughly 5 h 05 in the saddle. It goes by way of Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve, Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve and back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
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.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is where the day begins. 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 comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve.
Peesh skali means singing rocks, after the way the wind howls and whistles through the cliffs and crags of this reserve on the slopes of the central Balkan range. It lies on the northern side of the main ridge, not far from Botev, at 2,376 metres the highest peak of the Balkan mountains, and it protects beech and spruce forests, alpine meadows and rocky slopes, part of Central Balkan National Park. Chamois live on the crags, and bears, wolves and golden eagles roam the area. Access to the reserve is restricted, but trails in the surrounding park offer spectacular walks.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 146 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve. Next is back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve, late in the day. Next is 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 at Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve. That is the ride.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve → Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Dzhendema Reserve → Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.