Location:

Situated on the Balkan Peninsula in south east Europe, Bulgaria has borders with Romania to the north along the river Danube which separates the two countries; Greece and Turkey to the south and south-east, and the Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia to the west. To the east Bulgaria is flanked by the Black Sea. The majority of Bulgaria is lined by mountains. The Balkans (locally known as Stara Planina) run centrally across the country. The other famous mountains are the Rila (with its biggest peak on the Balkans - Musala, 2925 m) Pirin and Rhodope ranges.

Climate:

Like all of Europe, Bulgaria has a four season climate. The weather in the summer is dry and hot, with temperatures commonly reaching mid to high 30 s. The warmest months of the summer are July and August although the climate is pleasantly warm from April through to October. The temperature in mid winter is normally around -5 degrees. Winters are always snowy. Autumn and Spring are both beautiful and temperate.

People and Society:

The population of Bulgaria is approx. 8.2 million. Only Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria has more than 1.2 million inhabitants. The other principal cities in Bulgaria are Plovdiv (350 000 inhabitants), Varna (300 000 inhabitants), Bourgas (200 000 inhabitants), Rousse (150 000 inhabitants), Stara Zagora (150 000 inhabitants). The main religion of Bulgaria is Orthodox religion which comprises 86.6 % of the population. Other minority religions are Muslim- 13.1%; Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian- 0.3 %.

History:

Over the centuries, dating back to 3000 BC, the Bulgarian nation developed from three main ethnic origins- Thracian, Proto-Bulgarian and Slavic. If you are interested to see more information about Bulgarian history click here.

Travel Support:

The most common way for international visitors to reach Bulgaria is by air; Bulgaria has 3 international airports: Sofia, Varna and Bourgas. International trains enter Bulgaria from all surrounding countries and it is also possible to enter by road (Note: if you arrive by road you must have all relevant documents for your vehicle to hand). For more information, please click here.

Mobile communications:

Prepaid sim-cards are available to use on your existing mobile phone. There are two mobile operators in Bulgaria: Mtel and Globul.

Holidays & traditions:

Official Holidays
Public holidays include New Year (1 and 2 January), Liberation Day (3 March), Labor Day (1 May), St. Georges Day, which is also the day of the Bulgarian Army(6 May), Cyrillic Alphabet Day (24 May), Unification of Bulgaria(06 September), Independence Day (22 September) Christmas Eve (24 December) and Christmas (25 and 26 December). The reason for the two Christmas days is that religious Bulgarians were forbidden to practise during the Communist era, so they invented a secular - and suspiciously Christmas-like - celebration on the following day. Since the collapse of Communism, the original Christmas Day has been celebrated as before, but the invented holiday has been sensibly retained.

Traditions

Bulgarians observe a number of traditional customs. Trifon Zarezan on 14 February is the ancient festival of the wine growers. Vines are pruned and sprinkled with wine to ensure a bounteous harvest. On 1 March Bulgarians give one another martenitsi, red and white tasselled threads which are worn for health and happiness at the coming of spring. When wearers see their first stork of the season, the martenitsa is tied to the nearest tree. At the Koprivshtitsa International Folk Festival, which is held every five years, some 4000 finalists compete for awards. There is a biennial festival in Pernik at which participants, wearing traditional masks and costumes, perform ancient dances to drive away evil spirits and ask the good spirits for a plentiful harvest. Kukeri is another spring festival, most avidly celebrated in the Rodopi Mountains. The Festival of Roses is celebrated with folk songs and dances at Kazanlak and Karlovo on the first Sunday in June.