Day-by-day itinerary
Departure at 07:30 from Serdika Bus Station to the Stob Pyramids – among the most popular rock pyramids in Bulgaria.
Located above the village of Stob, in the western part of the Rila Mountains, these formations impress with their distinctive shapes. Their average height ranges from 7 to 10 metres, with some reaching 12 metres.
The journey continues to Rila Monastery – one of the most sacred places for the Bulgarian people.
In 1961, the monastery was designated a national museum, and in 1976, a national historical reserve. Since 1983, it has been under the auspices of UNESCO.
The monastery preserves manuscripts, early printed books and documents dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Its museum collection includes liturgical objects, ceremonial staffs, icons, weapons, a coin collection and other historic artefacts.
Rila Monastery is one of the 100 National Tourist Sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union.
Walk along the path to the Tomb of St. John of Rila.
Free time. Return to Sofia at approximately 18:00.
Saint John of Rila the Wonderworker
On 19 October, the Church commemorates St. John of Rila the Wonderworker – the humble hermit from the Rila Mountains who was called “an earthly angel and a heavenly dweller” even during his lifetime.
A Bulgarian cleric and Bulgaria’s best-known saint and hermit, he is the patron saint of the Bulgarian people and patron of Bulgaria’s spiritual and cultural enlighteners. The saint is the founder and patron of Rila Monastery – the largest stauropegial monastery in Bulgaria.
