bachkovo monastery

The monastery “Assumption of the Virgin” is near village Bachkovo. Very beatifull route between mountains and river. You can see treasures from the 17th century and icons.Easy parking with a small fee and many small shops and stands.

Bachkovo Monastery is the second biggest in Bulgaria. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in Plovdiv or you just pass by. The monastery is interesting with its main church and 2 smaller ones. The nature around it is very picturesque with many trails which will lead you to very impressive places - if you follow the small river of Kluvia you will get to 2 pretty waterfalls. In the vicinity, there are a chapel and a karst spring "Saint Archangel" which is ayazmo (it is a sacred spring, usually close to a church or monastery, whose water is deemed healing).They also offer rooms in the monastery and there is a small museum inside.There are many vendors along the short road to the monastery. They sell various things which, because of the tourists, are not cheap but you can find interesting things. You can also have some local dishes in the nearby restaurants.

Being the second biggest monastery in Bulgaria I was expecting something a bit bigger, But still it's very well preserved and definetly worth the trip.

The location and the atmosphere at Bachkovo Monastery is unbelievable. I always enjoy coming here. There is a path behind the monastery that leads even more mysterious places...

Visit one of the most popular places near Plovdiv.It will charm you with the amazing nature surrounding the Monastery. For those who would like to try typical Bulgarian food a great restaurant is always open and home made jams, honey etc are easy to find.

... very interesting place to visit. i can imagine the serenity of the place when it's not busy with tourists and pilgrims. if only i got more time to venture and explore the area, i would have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the beauty of the monastery in its natural surroundings.

Interesting place steeped in history. Beautiful monastery, slight incline/hill walk up from the car park. Small market/stalls selling traditional crafts etc. worth a visit

It is a really beautiful monastery to visit. In addition it is in the mountains and you should take your time to do the whole walk after the main building up to the top of hill. Luckily there are also some good things you could buy down before getting into the monastery and/ nice place to have a nice lunch mountain style. Also it is very close to Plovdiv. One very recommended walk to do when you stay in Plovdiv or around.

If you want to park off the road, you must pay a fee. 50+ vendors line the streets leading to the monastery. Not much to see.

Fascinating atmosphere.You cannot take a picture but You will never forget what You see.The holy bible is icon Painted on the walls with gold colors.

I love this place! Yes, there are restaurants and vendors vying for your money but hey, it's not Lourdes or other heavily frequented and touristy religious sites. I was there on a Wednesday and I felt like I had the place relatively to myself. I hiked up the nature trail adjacent to the series of chapels along the path after visiting the monastery. The two adjacent churches within the complex are beautiful ( no pictures allowed inside ) and the walls of the older one from the 14th century show remnants of black smoke resulting ( from what I was told ) from decades of invasion from other countries. The religious wall art is still visible though. Even though it was the end of September, the weather was still beautiful ( high 70s ). Perfect for nature walking. Please walk the nature trail so that you can see the beautiful series of cascading waterfalls. If you make it to the top, you will be rewarded with a chapel built in the 800s and a cave where a Bulgarian saint lived. Finally, if you love religious art, please visit the booth where an artisan hand makes icons in silver and 23 carat gold. I can't read Bulgarian but his website is www.iconi-mahnevi.com. I bought a beautiful icon for a good price in American money from him. I knew that day's exchange rate so I knew he was being honest.

enjoyed the road from Plovdiv very much,the scenery and the roadthe monastery is nice unique best on a sunny day

This tour is intended to visit special monasteries buildings, frescoes and how life is running in such a place. Half an hour of easy drive, brings you back on timeline, to a calm and pastoral atmosphere, out of the noisy modern life. For me as a Jew, the visit was especially exciting. Two bishops who saved thousands of Bulgarian Jews from being killed by the Germans (WWII), buried here. I came to pay my respect to their memory. Patriarch Kiril and Exarch Stefan Be blessed forever

Bypass the shops and get to the peaceful and quiet Monastery. If you want to step back in time visit the refectory with the amazing painted ceiling! The stone table under the ceiling is almost as amazing! Though you pay a bit extra, it is well worth doing. The ceiling has multiple roundel paintings connected by vines that traces the Tree of Jesse whom is sleeping at one end of the room. Stop and really look at the lighted iconic paintings and you notice small differences that identify the men (and they are labelled too). The stone table at which the monks were served is very long and probably the longest stone table I can think of. This is area is one of the real treasures of the Monastery. The main sanctuary is very dark and hard to see many of the icons. Though even here it gives one a sense of then centuries that people have worshiped here. It's like stepping into the past, but it is an active church.The forests around here are beautiful and gives a feel for why people selected this beautiful mountain spot for a monastery. Clean air and quiet!You can probably get ONE photo inside the grounds of the general outside of the building, if you want to take one of YOU being at the monastery, but like others have said this is a holy place for some so no photos.

Bachkovo Monestery is about half an hour by car / taxi from Plovdiv. The monestery has some beautiful frescos but sadly you are not allowed to take photos, There is a small church to visit and you can buy candles to light for a few stotinkis. When you come down from the monestery there are some cafes and market stalls. Buy the homemade jams and honeys , they are delisious and cheap.The views are spectacular too. A very pleasant half day trip.