Summary

The area around Teteven in the Balkan Mountains offer a unique and diverse landscape, dotted with tiny villages lost in greenness and flowers, offering visitors not only tranquillity and calmness, but also the opportunity to experience the unique and cosy atmosphere of authentic Bulgarian villages. In this region, traditions are a large part of modern life. Old water mills are still at work; fulling mills continue to wash colourful carpets; the famous "rakia" (brandy) is prepared right before you; Bulgarian housewives prepare unforgettably sweet jams made with wild berries; and the old farmers still make the famous Balkan brine cheese with sheep and goat's milk. And all this surrounded by the wild nature of the Central Balkan National Park and one of its nine green pearls – the biosphere reserve of Boatin, housing one of the largest belts of Beech forest in Europe.

We recommend this "inn to inn" vacation to hikers with previous experience in self-guided walks who are used to more adventurous trails as no really "well-marked Alpine-style paths" occur and from time to time you will have to walk between two marked paths using only the route notes (meaning that you have to find your own way using only directions as reference point for up to 100-300m over terrain that is not marked ). However the daily walks are short providing enough time to make sure you stay on the right path. The itinerary also provides possibilities to explore other areas along the trail if the described ones are not enough to fulfill your walking needs.