WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

by Stamen Manolov; photography by Anthony Georgieff

Water reservoirs are not typically on tourist bucket lists, but wait till you are well into this mountain range in southern Bulgaria

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At least a dozen man-made lakes of various sizes attract many locals who come here for the serenity, the mountain air and for the angling and photography opportunities. In actual fact being by a lake, especially in summertime, in many ways outshines going to the seaside if only because there are no crowds and it gets cooler at night. Besides, the hiking and trekking options will keep you busy for days if not weeks.

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First you see a pretty, almost fairy-tale, unmistakably Russian church. Soon you reach a larger-than-life equestrian statue representing a 19th century Russian monarch.
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