Rila monastery

Sofia — Dupnitza — Rila monastery

Firstly we'll start from your hotel in Sofia, then in about 20-30 mins drive we'll be on the one of the main roads exiting from Sofia — west, west south, taking us generally to either the FYROM's boarder south to the Bulgarian boarder with Greece. In about 60 mins from the start we'll make a short brake (optional) at Dupnitza (45 000 popluation) — about 15 mins. and then we'll continue south. Soon we'll see the grand siluette of the Rila mountain and will take to road uphill to the heart of the mountain.

The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.