A forest that never froze
Plants surviving from warmer climatic periods, unique in Europe.
Svilen Enev — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Elitsa Popova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roshe Photography — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roshe Photography — CC BY-SA 4.0
Bulgaria's largest protected area, covering about eleven hundred square kilometres of the Strandzha mountains in the far south-east on the Turkish border. What distinguishes it botanically is that it is a refuge: its forests hold species surviving from older, warmer climatic periods, among them evergreen shrubs beneath oak and beech — a combination found nowhere else in Europe. The reason is that the area did not freeze during the ice ages, so its ancient vegetation remained. Culturally it is equally rich: it holds the nestinari tradition — dancing on embers performed on the feast of Saints Constantine and Helena, a practice on the UNESCO intangible heritage list and regarded as the remains of rites older than Christianity itself. The coast inside the park is among the least built-up on the Black Sea, with sandy coves and small villages. The area is rural and needs a car, and the border is close, so carry your identification.
Plants surviving from warmer climatic periods, unique in Europe.
The nestinari tradition, on the UNESCO list.
Among the least built-up on the Black Sea.
South-eastern Bulgaria on the Turkish border
A rite performed in a few Strandzha villages on the night of 3 June, the feast of Saints Constantine and Helena: participants dance barefoot on burning embers carrying icons of the saints, to the rhythm of drum and pipe. It is preceded by preparatory rites in the village chapel involving fasting and prayer. Scholars see in it the continuation of ancient Thracian rites absorbed into Christianity. It was added to the UNESCO list in 2009.
The villages themselves: Brodilovo, Kosti and Bulgari, where the nestinari rite is held. The coast between Sinemorets and Rezovo, where rivers meet the sea amid forest — a rare sight on the Black Sea. And the stone formations and Thracian tombs scattered through the mountains. The area needs at least two days, and the best base is Tsarevo or Ahtopol.
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