Riding base "THE VALLEY OF ROSES "
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The Valley of Roses
In the very heart of Bulgaria – between the cities Karlovo and Kazanlak; in The Balkan Range and its smaller brother Sredna Gora Mountains it is possible to see a sea of flowers and to enjoy the smell of roses. And later you will always think of Bulgaria when meeting this fantastic combination. The roses blossom only a short while and the rose plucking starts in the early hours of the day before the sun starts to burn of the precious drops for perfumes. The roses are being taken care of all year even if we think they are wild and not looked for at first sight, but that’s how they have to be when some of the most expensive raw material is extracted. |
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Riding base ”The Valley of Roses”
Far away in the mountains closing up to The Valley of Roses you will find a small forgotten village. Svezhen is full of exiting history and a strange way of living surrounded by mountains, old woodlands, open meadows with cows and sheep grassing and with fields not bigger than a stamp still are cultivated by man and horse. To ride out, to watch and to explore this area from a horseback is a out-and-out a culture- and nature adventure.
The centre in our riding base is situated high above the village in 1000 m. The chalet Svezhen is in three floors and partly renovated. It reminds you of a better hostel and actually that was the function during communism. There are approximately 25 beds in 2-3-4-5 and 6 bedded rooms. The rooms are partly renovated. Toilets and bathrooms are on each floor. Further there is a dinning room with an open fireplace. You can play table tennis and different kinds of board games, cards and dice. The standard is simple and nice. Right outside the chalet is the summer stable. In the high summer weeks we have a part of the horses on post here and of course they are the main attraction here, but also they are on a kind of holiday – they know exactly what is in store for them. It a time when the watch is on holiday too and of course this reflects on the horses.
During stay there is full board and all meals are enjoyed in the chalet or outside. At lunch we usually organize picnics and one evening could be at a family from the village – this is depending on when the harvest is starting and on the weather in general.
Svezhen
The village – and the chalet is situated in “for-mountains” to the Balkans. Sredna Gora as they officially are called reaches a high of 1200 m in this area. It is deep in these mountains you find Svezhen.
This old village exudes of history and atmosphere. It’s like e living museum and the daily life here is completely different from our stressed way of living. The village is more than 600 years old and today it has a status of historical – architectural reserve. Many of the houses are several hundred years old. Behind the walls the traditions are still uphold and almost all families are self-sufficient summer and winter. It’s not unusual to have a cow, a pig, a donkey and may be some goats or sheep, chickens, cats and dogs.
In the village you find the inn which opens on a special signal and the bakery supplying the northern part of the village in the morning and the southern part in the afternoon. You can only buy one type of bread – and it’s good! The grocery where you can buy everything – and if you cannot find what you’re looking for we are sure that you can live without at least for some days. Along the river you find the local distillery where enormous cobber vessels are used for the production of plum brandy “rakija”. In the season the production is day and night.
As in every old village the church is in the centre and after many years without any activity again it has got its natural centre of the local holidays and special days. Also here in the centre you find a small garden with lime trees and the only big building apart from the now closed school still in function. Here in the mayor has his office and there is a post office, library and even a cinema salon. Svezhen once was a big town with over 5000 inhabitants and a rich cultural life. Now only 192 old and elderly people are left. The youngest is in the 30ies and the oldest near hundred years old.
| Nature Adventure
We are deep in the mountains in 600 m up to 1100 m. We call the mountains for “soft” and they just invite to riding tours of all kinds. The open meadows are as created for good gallop – the long trails to trot and the hilly slopes to enjoyable rides in walk. More than 20.000 hectares just gives possibilities you never dreamt of. We ride in waste and un-spoilt nature with view to the Balkans on the one side and to the other: The Mariza plain. Here is a smell of lavender, roses and blooming grasses. And when the day is over you can enjoy the sunset behind the beautiful mountains.
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The area is full of exiting adventures: The unspoiled nature far off the beaten track is like a horn of plenty: First and foremost the superb terrain for horse and rider. The hilly terrains and the relatively flat mountain tops is a true paradise to explore in all paces. You can ride out for a short ride or a long ride with a picnic at lunch. You can overnight in the free at the campfire. And when your back is tender you can pick flowers and berries to the most aromatic mountain tee and you can hike in mountains.
Feel the nature and take part in small and big challenges. You’re welcome to take part in work with horses. If you have a hidden cowboy inside you here have the possibility to try to throw the lasso and to prepare the food over open fire. Ride out and explore the secrets of the valley and make a camp. Around the camp fire you will find a place for song and music till the early morning.
Other possibilities
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Beside all the activities the nature is offering, you also have a chance to go to Plovdiv for a half day or a whole day trip. In Plovdiv you can see the old roman theatre and 20 km south of Plovdiv the famous Bachkovo Monastery. Of course there are plenty of less known sights in the area. About all this we will tell you a lot more when you are on spot.
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Gallery
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