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Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria's most spectacular city, the residence of the tzars.

The trip is organized only on request for 1-50 people, and the reservation shall be made in advance.

Time - 14 hours

Route  Bucuresti – Ivanovo cave churches –  Dryanovo monastery – Bacho Kiro cave – Veliko Tarnovo – Bucuresti

Program - daily

Pick-up time - 07:00 - 08:30

Pick-up location – any hotel/address from Bucharest

Professional guide surcharge available on request  - English / Italian / Spanish / German / Hebrew / French

Tourist attractions Ivanovo cave churches –  Dryanovo monastery – Bacho Kiro cave – Veliko Tarnovo

Tariffs

Car

1-3 seats

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from 295€

per tour

Midibus

20-30 seats

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from 575€

per tour

Minivan

4-8 seats

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from 345€

per tour

Coach

33-51seats

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from 690€

per tour

Minibus

9-19 seats

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from 465€

per tour

PRICE ENTRANCE TICKETS

Tsarevets fortress ........................................................6 Leva

Bacho Kiro cave............................................................5 Leva

Warning: warm clothes for the cave, suitable shoes because the floor is slippery, backpack.

 

Schedule Tsaravets fortress

April-Octomber: 8:00 - 19:00

November -March: 9:00 - 17:00

Visitors' access is interrupted 1 hour before closing.

 

ARE NOT INCLUDED

Entry ticket 

Professional guide available on request - English / Italian / Spanish / German / Hebrew / French

Meal

LOCAL CURRENCY: payments in Bulgaria are made in local currency Leva. We recommend you exchange the Leva in Bucharest, as time does not allow us to make stops for foreign exchange.

 

Time marks

Bucuresti – Ivanovo - 2.5 hours                                                             

Visit of the Ivanovo monastery  - 30 minutes                                              

Ivanovo – Dryanovo monastery (Bacho Kirocave, are closed) - 1hour 45 minutes

Visit of Dryanovo monastery, Bacho Kiro cave - 1 hour        

Dryanovo monastery – Veliko Tarnovo - 30 minutes

Visit of Veliko Tarnovo – Lunch - 3 hours                                                           

Other stops  - 30 minutes

Veliko Tarnovo –  Bucuresti - 3 hours 30 minutes                                                    

Total time: 14 hours

Hourly landmarks are approximate and depend on traffic, but also on the time you allocate to visits, meals or other stops.

LUNCH BREAK: We will have free time in Veliko Tarnovo for lunch. We recommend that you have different snacks (sandwiches, fruits etc.) to eat along the way.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

Identity card (ID) within validity or passport valid for another 6 months after returning to the country.

 

For all information, we recommend consulting the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.​

 

Children under age of 14 years need a PASSPORT and CANNOT leave Romania based on the Birth Certificate.

Minors who do not travel accompanied by both parents must present to the customs the documents from which to result the consent of one of the parents or of both parents, as the case may be. For greater efficiency, it is good to have a photocopy of the documents, which can be kept at customs.​

 

If the children are not accompanied by any of the parents, the accompanying adult will also present a Criminal Record Certificate.

For all information, we recommend consulting the Border Police website.

Description

In the morning, we start our journey on the route Bucharest-Giurgiu-Ruse-Ivanovo, and we will reach the first objective on our list, the churches dug in rock - numerous monolithic cave churches, chapels and monasteries dug into rock and totally different from other monastic complexes in Bulgaria, located on the rocky banks of the river Rusenski Lom. The fame of the complex is due to the frescoes of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, preserved in 5 of the churches, examples of Bulgarian medieval art. Many secular inscriptions have been preserved in the monastery area, including the famous carved inscription of Monk Ivo Gramatik from 1308-1309.

The churches dug into rock of Ivanovo were included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

Next is the DRYANOVO MONASTERY, which has as the patron saint St. Archangel Michael and is located at the foot of a spectacular canyon (Emen Canyon).

For many centuries, the monastery was one of the Centers of development of Bulgarian Christianity and culture and today it continues to attract believers and tourists from many corners of the world.

In the monastery there is the exhibition "Archaeology and Renaissance". It houses objects that have been discovered around the monastery; they describe the evolution of both the region and the monastery. Thus, the exhibition includes domestic objects such as tools, coins, ceramics etc. since prehistoric times. An important place in the exhibition is occupied by various documents and objects from the April 1876 uprising, such as items that belonged to the rebels, various pictures, weapons, clothing etc. In the museum informative materials (leaflets or books) and souvenirs are available to be bought.

The Bacho Kiro cave is located at approx. 6 km south-west of Dryanovo and about 300 m from Dryanovo Monastery,

This is the cave that in 1937 became the first developed cave in Bulgaria. After a few years, it was named the Bacho Kiro cave, after the nickname of the above-mentioned revolutionary man, the one who led the uprising in April 1876. The cave was used as a hiding place for partisans. In 1962 it was declared an important natural landmark, subsequently being included in the list of 1000 tourist sites in Bulgaria.

Veliko Tarnovo, also known as the "City of the Tzars". The name Veliko Tarnovo derives from the word “tern” (“tower” in English, “turn” in Romanian) and “veliko " (great), so the Great Tower. The town is located on the bank of the Yantra river, being the capital of the Vlaho-Bulgarian Tsardom between 1185-1393.

The Old City stretches on three hills: Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora. The former residences of the tsars and patriarchs of the Vlaho-Bulgarian Tsardom are located on the Tsarevets Hill.

By far the most important historical remains are the Tsarevets and Trapezitsa fortresses that stand guard on either side of the Yantra River.

Located on a terrace above the river, a monument dedicated to the Bulgarian tsars Assen I, Peter, Kaloyan and Ivan Assen II, under whose reign (1185-1241), the medieval Bulgaria state, with its capital at Tarnovgrad (now Veliko Turnovo), has reached its political, economic and cultural apogee, represents the homage paid to those who founded the Vlach-Bulgarian Tsardom and offers a magnificent view over the old city.

In Veliko Tarnovo one can also visit 3 museums: Sarafkina Kashta which presents folk crafts and exhibitions of folk jewelry and costumes, History Museum and Archaeological Museum.

A moment of relaxation is walking along the narrow and quiet streets of the Old Town and admiring the architecture of the area.

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