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 493 km to Klisura; allow about 8 h 29 of riding. On the way it passes Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve, Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve, Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve and Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
The Balkan range, called Stara Planina in Bulgarian, runs across the whole of the country like a long, wooded wall, and it gave its name to the entire Balkan peninsula. The Tsarichina reserve lies in its central part, within the Central Balkan National Park, in a deep valley that holds some of the oldest and best preserved forests in Bulgaria. The beech and fir trees are huge, and in places have never been cut, so the forest has the tall, silent, shadowy character of ancient woodland. It belongs to the beech forest sites that UNESCO linked together across Europe.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve.
The Balkan range, the Stara Planina, runs across the middle of Bulgaria from the Serbian border to the Black Sea, and its central section is the wildest, highest and most heavily forested part. The Central Balkan National Park protects this area, and within it, the Boatin Reserve guards a stretch of ancient beech forest on the northern slopes, one of the components of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a UNESCO site that stretches across many countries.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 117 km into the recorded legs you reach Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve. 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, about halfway. 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.
Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve sits at 248 km, about halfway. 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 comes up about 314 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through 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.
about 373 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve. Next is back through Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve, late in the day. Next is Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 493 km.
Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve → Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve → Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve → Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central Balkan - Severen Dzhendem Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Steneto Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Kozya stena Reserve → back through Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central Balkan - Boatin Reserve → Central Balkan - Tsarichina Reserve is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.