TRAVEL

Some expats arrive in Bulgaria for business and then they find something more – a way to bring some meaningful change into the life of the country. Tony McMurray is one such example. The finance professional has always sought challenges in sports, adventure and charity. In 2021 he got an idea that would unite all of these to help some of the most vulnerable Bulgarian citizens. The idea behind the Bulgarian 56 Peaks Challenge is both simple and alluring.

Huge boulders that rise at precipitous heights. Giant bedrock holes that look like imprints of footsteps. Strange ruins from times immemorial… Bulgaria and the Balkans are dotted with such places – natural phenomena carved by the sun, rain and wind, remains of ancient rock shrines or forgotten fortifications erected by some obscure warlord.

One fine August morning of 2025, scores of people flocked to Iglika, a small semi-abandoned village nestled in the central Stara Planina mountain range near Gabrovo. They had come for an event without a parallel in Bulgaria. On a sun-dried meadow, a collector of traditional Bulgarian kilims had spread about 900 handwoven pieces, dating from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Their bright colours and intricate ornaments created an astonishing mosaic that reflected centuries of kilim-making tradition.

The narrow, claustrophobic space seems to press in on you. The smell of machine oil, metal and people. The sense of the unknown… Descending into a submarine is an unforgettable experience. If you want to try it – and learn more about Bulgaria's submarines – your destination is Beloslav, a town west of Varna. Here, on the southern shore of Lake Varna, is a surprising museum: the last submarine of the Bulgarian Navy. Its name – Slava, or Glory.

Ever since the first tourists discovered the Vitosha as the fastest way to leave the pollution and chaos of the big city and roam among pristine nature, the moreni, or moraines – massive boulders that cascade amid the firs, a hidden river rumbling beneath them – have been top of the must-see list.

Anyone who is even remotely interested in looking at the world from the window of a car will instantly know that driving through Bulgaria's lesser and off-the-beaten track roads is absolutely the best way to take in the natural and cultural beauties of this country and to experience a first-hand interaction with its people.

Beyond the E871 highway and after the last premises of Sofia's Business Park, a white metal palisade shields an immense building site. The borehole drilling resonates from within. The summer sun is burning. With Vitosha mountain against a clear blue sky for a background, a sandy country lane meanders up a plateau.

Colourful weeds grow tall on both sides of the lane. Modest houses in peeling orange, green or yellow hide behind the old trees. Above them, towers a massive concrete structure, rising from the plateau: Kambanite, or The Bells.

When the young Patrick Leigh Fermor – a man considered one of the 20th century greatest travel writers – visited Ruse in 1934, he stumbled upon a strange town.

These include, but are not limited to, bad or non-existent asphalt, unpredictable and uncared-for potholes, confusing signage, maniacal drivers and traffic cops that contribute to the problems rather than try to solve them. Yet anyone who is even remotely interested in looking at the world from the window of a car will instantly know that driving through Bulgaria's lesser and off-the-beaten track roads is absolutely the best way to take in the natural and cultural beauties of this country and to experience a first-hand interaction with its people.

Whitewashed houses of stone and clay brick, with bay windows and heavy roofs of crooked tiles or even stone slabs: this is what Bulgarian traditional villages and towns look like.