Bulgaria: From the Mountains to the Sea
18 - 27 August 2024
Bulgaria is one of these countries, which is not typically on the list of your first 5 choices when it comes to thinking about holidays. But let me tell you, it should be Number One !
What can you expect in these 10 days:
- Wild, pristine, untouched nature
- Long hikes to reconnect with yourself and nature
- Experiencing true slow food, visiting local producers of truly organic vegetables as well as natural wines
- Home cooking of great soulful vegan and raw food in our unique mountain accomodations
- Managing long hikes on simple, yet powerful raw food supplies
- Meeting local Bulgarians and experience local culture and food
- Visiting some of the most stunning natural and cultural inheritage sights without the regular tourism
This trip is not about all or nothing, it's a combination of everything beautiful, this country has to offer. We will have long days of hiking in solitude, eating detoxing simple raw food like the freshest ripest fruits and vegetables in season, locally produced raw food bread, tahini, olives etc. and going to places of stunning natural beauty as well outside for your eyes as well as inside in yourself. We will prepare simple, yet delicious meals together, working with what we have, partly raw, partly cooked, always full of nutrients and taste.
On other days, we will break up this journey and mingle into the local culture, visiting local vegetable farms, natural wine producers, small Bulgarian towns and meet locals, have slow food meals prepared by locals, eat at one of Europes best vegan restaurant in Sofia and meet with the owner, and more. Every trip is different and all or just some of the above may happen and probably other amazing things.
This trip is truly unique. You will learn about raw & vegan food, food culture, natural wines, Bulgarian culture and be immersed in one of the few remaining worlds centers of superior nature energy, comparably found in places like Machu Pichu in Peru, but without the masses of tourists.
Prices:
Full package: From the mountains to the sea (9 nights all inclusive)
2500,- €
Early bird Offer:
Book and pay until 31st of December 2023 and save 100,-€ for the full trip.
Interested? Please inquire now.
Tentative Itinerary, we are still in finalizing the planning (you can find impressions from 2021/22 trip in the saved Highlights on my instagram @borislauser)
17th of August (optional)
dinner at Soul Food, Sofia's best vegan restaurant.
This is optional and not included in the price. The actual tour starts with the activities of the 19th.
Day 1 (18 August)
Departure from Sofia. Drive to the Rila Mountains. Hike up to the cottage and mountain dinner at the cottage
Day 2 (19 August)
We start the day fairly early right after breakfast and hike to the breathtaking view points of the 7 lakes. We also watch the unique dance rituals of the white brotherhood, a spectacle that only takes place once a year. Lift back to the car park and transfer to Melnik. Overnight in a stunning wineyard and degustation and dinner.
Day 3 (20 August)
Hike through the stunning sandstone formations of Melink and visit of the cute town. Lunch in Melnik. Transfer to Plovdiv and dinner at Sofia's cultural center Elysium.
Day 4 (21 August)
Tour through Plovdiv, Europe's oldest world heritage city. Visit of the amphitheathre and other stunning sites. Transfer to Sitovo in Rhodopi mountains where we hike to the Raw Vega Hut in the middle of the mountains, which will be our base for the next 3 nights. Dinner at the mountain cottage.
Day 5 (22 August)
Raw Vega Hut: Living Foods Breakfast
Day Tour: Holy water, Studa Grada
Dinner at Raw Vega Hut
Day 6 (23 August)
Raw Vega Hut
More Hiking, Option for Yoga, Option for Free Time and Calming down
Final Mountain Dinner in our cottage.
Day 7 (24 August)
Final mountain breakfast and descent to the town.
Transfer to Varvara at the black sea.
25 - 27 August
Stay at the coast of Bulgaria
Every morning Yoga Session with me including breathwork and meditation. Vegan Brunch at our local accomodation.
Hiking to Beglik Tash , Exploring the beautiful beaches. Tours through the local fisher villages,
Exploring local foods and restaurants for dinner.
27 August
You are welcome to extend your stay at the beach on your own expense, or book a flight back from Burgas or return by bus to Plovdiv / Sofia to continue your own trip. There may also be an option to return with us to Plovdiv / Sofia, but this will be planned closer to time and we cannot commit to it at this point. Most probably, there will be a dinner event organized by me in a local restaurant in Plovdiv on the 29th of August, but also not confirmed yet.
What others say about it
Mein Wort für diese Reise ist: Dankbarkeit!
Dankbar, dass ich an dieser unglaublich wunderschönen, atemberaubenden und ereignisreichen Reise teilnehmen konnte.
Ich bin mit wenigen Erwartungen nach Bulgarien gekommen und wurde mit so tollen Dingen beschenkt. Die tolle Reisegruppe, die schönen und lustigen und auch tiefgründigen Gespräche am Abend, das leckere Essen, die vorzüglichen Weine und die Wanderungen zu den schönsten Flecken von Bulgarien.
DANKBARKEIT passt hier echt gut. Danke an Sofia, Boris, Jivko und die wunderbaren und liebevollen Teilnehmer der Reise!
Maik Hausmann, August 2019
Bulgarien – eine Reise der besonderen Wahrnehmung
Traumhafte Bergwelten, unberührte Natur und duftende Wälder, die man über teilasphaltierte Pisten erreicht, die nur entfernt mit Straßen verwandt sein können.
Unternehmerische Einzel-Initiativen, die prosperieren und in krassem Gegensatz zu zerfallenden Anwesen in fast leerstehenden Dörfern angesiedelt sind.
Eindrucksvolle sakrale Kunst der Orthodoxie und die üppigen Bürgerhäuser von Plovdiv aus dem 19. Jahrhundert in mittelbarer Nachbarschaft zu den Plattenbauten der Nachkriegszeit.
Warmherzige Gastfreundschaft, konterkariert durch politische Hoffnungslosigkeit.
All dies sind die wahrgenommenen Gegensätze unserer Reise durch den Südwesten Bulgariens, dasRila-Gebirge, die Rhodopen, Sofia, Plovdiv und das beeindruckende Weingut Santa Yustina.
Eine empfehlenswerte Reise, auf der wir neue Freunde gewonnen haben!
Reinhard und Sabine im August 2019
The Crew
Sofia Markov
Sofia was born and raised in Bulgaria. In her childhood, she was very inspired by the work of Petar Danow, who was reaching out to people to connect them more with the divine and God. For Sofia, this inspiration and his work ultimately brought about her mission and passion today: To help people reconnect to nature and themselves, and therefore to others and the whole world.
Sofia knows Bulgarias most energetic and naturally most powerful places where she will bring us to get in touch with the true power of nature and our own inner self. The beauty of it: She does it with lots of fun and a lightness so don't expect a silent and sad tour, but an invigorating and powerful journey where there is room for all emotions.
Boris Lauser
Boris is a passionate raw food chef as well as a passionate traveller. His 9 years+ experience in creating high end gourmet raw food have been appreciated in his private Berlin dinner club just as well as in resorts in Bali, Thailand or Austria, where he developed menus and trained staff. His Raw Chef Academy has been booked out ever since he opened up in 2014. Being a passionate traveller, Boris loves to explore local food traditions, local producers and just about anything around food in new countries. Boris will be your culinary guide throughout this trip, preparing with you some delicious raw food as well as introducing you to local foods and products including award winning natural wines and some of the best vegan and vegetarian food places Bulgaria has to offer.
Jivko (co-founder of Soul Kitchen, Sofia)
was born in Sofia, Bulgaria! He deeply believes in the power of nature and the human capability to heal yourself through proper diet and physical and spiritual activity. His encounter with some serious diseases as Hashimoto Thyreoiditis, Prediabetes and a stroke completely changed his life. He switched to an entirely plant based diet, pure to the highest degree and carefully selected. He devoted himself to spiritual practice and tibetan buddhist meditation. His diseases gradually disappeared and this life experience has motivated him to help others through his compassionate activity.
His mission in life is to create foods, containing the purest and the most useful ingredients possible, which help prevent disease and preserving human health. Jivko admires his roots and the spiritual traditions of Bulgaria and he is inspired by the knowledge, monuments and traditions left by his ancestors.
