The Strandzha Mountains are situated in Southeastern Bulgaria and Turkey which stretches between Bourgas valley, the Black Sea and Eastern Thracia. The highest peak on Bulgarian territory is Gradishte (710 m a.s.l.). The mountain is scarcely populated and not very close to big cities, thus not really well developed for individual or group hiking holidays, but more for leisure walking around the exisiting villages.
The climate in the Bulgarian part of Strandzha is primarily transitional-Mediterranean influenced by the Black Sea. Strandzha Nature Park is the biggest protected area in Bulgaria. It occupies 1% (1.161 sq km) of the territory and 23.5% of the protected areas in the country.
The view to Strandzha, opening from its wide mountain crests, is fascinating and unforgettable. The folding rounded tops covered with forest form an endless chain, which does not feature the impressive sharp crests or rocky peaks typical of the other Bulgarian mountains. Villages surrounded by grasslands, meadows and small fields lie dispersed on the mountain slopes of this endless green sea. The picturesque meanders of the two clearest Bulgarian rivers, the Veleka and the border river Rezovska, are winding through.
The Nature Park occupies one of the first places among the protected territories in Europe in terms of biological diversity. Over 50% of the Bulgarian flora are represented there with a big number of endemic, relict, rare and threatened Red Data Book species. The Strandzha rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum), flowering with fabulously beautiful violet flowers, is a symbol of the Park.

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The diversity of the fauna is also immense. Strandzha hosts the biggest number of fresh-water fishes, reptiles, birds, bats and other small mammals in the country. The animal world is represented by reindeer, deer, wild boars, jackals, turtles, lizards, snakes, frogs and mote than 250 species of birds.
The millenia-old human civilization in these lands has left a number of original cultural monuments: dolmens, Thracian sanctuaries and altars, burial tombs and necropolises, many chapels and sacred springs.
The specific traditional Strandzha architecture, preserved in the village of Brashlian - an architectural monument, in Malko Turnovo and other settlements, is also very interesting.
The rich folklore traditions, the original rituals and habits of the local population have kept some pagan elements from the remotest past. Such is the fire - dancing ritual, practiced in the villages of Bulgari and Brodilovo.

 

TOURS IN THE STRANDZHA MOUNTAINS

Walking, nature and beach holidays:
> Visit Strandzha - your most detailed guide to explore Strandzha

 

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