Rhodopi Municipality: Rhodope Foothills, Wine and Village Traditions

At the foot of the northern Rhodope slopes, Rhodopi Municipality brings together mountain villages, nature experiences and a well-established wine culture. Located south to southwest of Plovdiv, it forms a natural suburban area around the city. If you want to choose between landscapes, regional traditions and wine for your trip, you will find a range of reasons to explore here.

Trails, woodland and a trip with a fishing break

The Izvor eco-trail mainly comprises two routes. One of these routes includes a fishpond, allowing you to combine your trip with fishing. This gives you the option of making nature the focus of your day or taking a break by the water.

The municipality’s landscape covers about 300 km² and includes Rhodope forests between Asenovgrad, Mihalkovo and Krichim. The municipality is home to a centuries-old winter oak, which is protected under the Biological Diversity Act. A named route also passes through Rodopi Municipality, offering another way to get to know the area. Nature lovers may choose their location based on whether they would rather focus their trip on wide-ranging landscapes or individual protected natural landmarks.

Wine history and wineries in Brestovitsa

In Brestovitsa, a wine museum tells the old and modern history of wine from the region. Villa Vinifera was built in Brestovitsa in 1936 and is a winery of the classical type. There is also a small family winery in the centre of Brestovitsa. You can explore wine from more than one perspective: some travellers are interested in the region’s development, others in the classic form of a winery or the personal scale of a family business. These differences can help you plan an outing around your own interests rather than treating the various places as alike.

At Villa Yustina, the “wine journey” on offer includes a tour of the production facilities and the enoteca. If you are interested in wine, you can make this a distinct focus of your trip alongside excursions into nature.

Festivals with wine, music and traditional customs

At the beginning of December, the municipality holds its annual “Dionysian Festivals of Young Wine”. The festival moves between the municipality’s settlements and lasts two or three days. Another municipal festival takes place annually between 1 and 10 June, also rotating between settlements and lasting two or three days. More than 35 amateur ensembles perform at the festival.

The festival on 14 February is celebrated with particular flair in Brestovitsa. Several wineries take part, young people participate actively, and the custom is reenacted. The annual village festivals in the settlements also show a tendency to revive and renew older customs and rituals. These include Kukeri processions, pruning the vines on Winemaker’s Day, retrieving the cross at Epiphany and Babinden. Traditional Bulgarian costumes, Rhodope songs and horo dances are also part of the festivities.

Choose a suitable base for your trip

The municipality covers about 300 km² and combines its location south to southwest of Plovdiv with small mountain villages on the edge of the Rhodope Mountains. These villages offer proximity to Plovdiv, practical infrastructure, fresh air and traditional cuisine; at weekends, they attract residents and visitors from the city. When looking for a holiday rental, it may therefore be helpful to consider whether you want to focus your trip on the connection with Plovdiv or on the character of the small mountain villages. Culture, wine and nature each offer their own themes, without requiring you to settle on a single focus for every day of your holiday.

You can also explore the municipality’s settlements of Dedovo, Boykovo and Belashtitsa.

More destinations

You can also explore Stamboliyski, Kuklen, Maritsa, Asenovgrad and Hisarya.

For the broader travel overview: Plovdiv Province.