CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 470 km round trip from Karlovo - roughly 10 h 09 in the saddle. It goes by way of Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve, Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve and back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 41 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.
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 - 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.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve comes up 34 km in. 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.
69 km in you reach Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. 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 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 sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve comes up 172 km in. 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.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve closes the day.
Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve → Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve → Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak → Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Sokolna Reserve → back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak → back through Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Peesh skali Reserve → Central Balkan - Stara Reka Reserve is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.