Travel Guide To Rural Bulgaria - Kostenets

A Travel Guide To Rural Bulgaria - Village Kostenets

"Village Kostenets, is one of the most idyllic and relaxing places in Bulgaria."

When travelling to Kostenets, the roads are in fairly good condition, to get there you must travel through the Town of Kostenets, this is a bustling, thriving town, always full of activity and people. On a warm day it is perfect for whiling away your free hours in the many new cafes. The main attraction of this town, is the weekly market, which takes place on a Saturday- it consists of clothes, household goods, fruit and vegetable stalls and a fairly amazing animal market, where you can find little piggies in the boot of a car or baby ducks flapping about a cardboard box!

While driving the 8kms between the Town and Village of Kostenets, magnificent mountains tower in front of your eyes- these are part of the Rila Mountain Range and the intensity of awe that they arouse is very hard to put to paper. The first sign of your arrival is a locally crafted sign in the Cyrillic alphabet that stands at the right of the road. This village is perfect for navigation as it is constructed in a circle, the main road will lead you back to where you started!

The centre of the village is beautifully landscaped, with large trees lining the road and the central park filled with flowers. There are two cafes that are perfectly located to relax and watch the world go by. Also, there is a quaint little fruit shop that will grind your coffee beans for you, there and then and the smell that fills the shop is simply divine! Across the road there is an infamous 1 lev shop that sells pretty much everything - you'll find some Christmas decorations in there in the middle of July!

The local church is situated just around the corner, it has stunning architecture that reminds you of a century, long gone. On the top sits a great Storks nest, which is very important to the people as this signifies clean and healthy air is all around! A large war memorial stands near by, tall and proud-seeking remembrance for all those that bravelly fought and died. In front of the church are special boards that display pictures of all those recently passed on and the grieveing place a black bow upon their gate.

A steep incline up a large hill leads the way to the Villi Zone of the village, where there are a select number of villas and large estates. Half-way up there is an outdoor mineral swimming pool filled with happy swimmers and sunbathers. On the opposite side there is an indoor baths, that is for the braver amongst us that are willing to strip off and bear all!

In the Villa Zone there is a little church, that is used by the villagers on weekends for special prayer. It sits on the perfect vantage point, from here you can see all of the village and even the town in the distance. You are surrounded by mountains and the silence is only broken by whispering insects or calling birds.

At the end of the road, starts various hiking trails into the Rila Mountains, from the forestry building. One of them-a four hour hike- leads to Belmeken, the sports complex.

To cool down, there is a fountain with two cold taps, it also has two warm taps that flow natural mineral water. Along from here is the feature that makes the locals proud, the Kostenets waterfall! The sound of it flowing into the river, is so peaceful and relaxing- this is the perfect place for a picnic!

Follow the river down a long and twisting road and you will be pleasantly surprised when you find the Lake restaurant- Ezeroto. They serve great traditional Bulgarian cuisine such as the Shopska Salad. After parking you immediately see a large, wood carved majestic bear towering above you, it is one of the many wooden sculptures hiding in the natural environment! It is incredibly beautiful here and the wooden walkways allow you to explore and walk all the way around to see the ducks swimming up and down on the lake.

Village Kostenets is one of the most idyllic and relaxing places in Bulgaria.
Why not visit a rural Bulgarian location for your next holiday? This is only one of the many rural villages that Bulgaria has to offer!

Debbie Lockhart
Journalist and Photographer
Bulgaria Info Online
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http://www.bulgariainfo-online.com