Unique 2 days tour - Boyana Church, Rila Monastery and outdoor mineral baths

Day 1 · Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - Boyana Church - Rila Monastery

1. 1

   St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral

   20 min Admission included

   Iconic Bulgarian Orthodox church with Neo-Byzantine architecture & an underground museum.

2. 2

   Vitosha Mountain

   one hour Admission included

   Vitosha, the ancient Scomius or Scombrus, is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing.

3. 3

   Boyana Church

   40 min Admission included

   The Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

4. 4

   Rila Mountains

   2 hours Admission included

   Rila is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif.

5. 5

   Rila Monastery

   12 hours Admission included

   The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery "Sveti Ivan Rilski", is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

A very unique experience to stay overnight in Rila Monastery and touch the spiritual life of this sacred place!

Day 2 · Rila Monastery - The Cave of St. Ivan Rilski - Kirilova Polyana Meadow - Sapareva Banya mineral baths

1. 1

   Stop 1

   2 hours Admission included

   The permanent exhibition presents with more than 600 exhibits the historical development of the monastery from its creation to the present day. Outstanding works of ecclesiastical art, ethnographic materials, archival documents, weapons. The library of the Rila Monastery is also very rich. The collection of coins amounts to more than 4400 samples from the Middle Ages to the present day.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   one hour Admission included

   Sv. Ivan Rislki Chudotvorets (St. John of Rila the Miracle Worker) is a Bulgarian cleric - the most famous Bulgarian hermit saint, heavenly protector and patron of Bulgarian people. The saint was born 876 years in the village of Skrino and died in 946.

   Southwest of the village, about half a kilometer away of Ruen monastery, is located the cave where the saint lived during his monasticism, before his way to the Rila mountain where later he founded the Rila Monastery. The cave is reached by a steep path starting from the monastery, which today is named to the saint.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   one hour Admission included

   At a height of 1465 meters is located Kirilova meadow, one of the most beautiful places in Rila Mountain.

   The meadow is surrounded by some of the most scary and majestic peaks of Rila – Iglata, Dvuglav, Zliya zab, Kupenite and Lovnitsa, which makes it not only the ideal place for rest and picnic, but also a starting point for some of the most interesting tourist routes in Rila Mountain.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   1 h 30 min Admission included

   "Diavolski Vodi" (The Devil's Water) is a cascading waterfall, which is located on the slopes of Rila Mountain near the village of Pastra. The cascade starts from the beginning of the slope and after a series of falls, flows into the Rila River.

5. 5

   Stop 5

   1 h 30 min Admission included

   Located at the foot of Rila Mountain, ten kilometers before Rila Monastery overlooking the waterfalls "Devil's Waters". The interesting name of the restaurant comes from this cascade of waterfalls.The restaurant has 60 seats in the lounge and a summer garden with 120 seats. The menu includes mainly Bulgarian cuisine. We offer: trout (fried, grilled and sach), sach in a monastery, a wide range of salads and cooked dishes (soups). You can eat homemade sheep's yogurt and jam from blueberries, quinces, prunes, strawberries, cherries and peaches. We have a great variety of brandies and wines.

6. 6

   Sapareva Banya

   4 hours

   Sapareva Banya is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Kyustendil Province. As Ancient Germania, a former bishopric, it is a Latin Catholic titular see.

   The former Roman town of Germania (in Dacia) or Germane once stood at the location of modern Sapareva Banya and in the 3rd century was an important town in Dacia province.[2] This, or possibly Germen, was the birthplace of the great Byzantine general Belisarius and was mentioned in the 6th century as Γερμανία, Γερμανός, Γέρμεννε. In an 11th-century charter of Byzantine Emperor Basil II (Porphyrogenitus/ the Young), it was listed as Γερμάνεια (Germaneia).

7. 7

   Stop 7

   4 hours Admission included

   The club offers a SPA center, outdoor and indoor thermal pools and a restaurant.

   Mineral water of Separeva banya was highly regarded and used as a cure by Thracians and Romans. Saparevian mineral water is clear, colorless, with smell of hydrogen sulfide, hyperthermal (temperature 103 °C), hydrocarbonate, sulphate-sodium, fluorine, silicon and sulphide.

8. 8

   St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral

   30 min Admission included

   Drop off back in Sofia to share our wonderful experience and say bye to each other :)!