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Biking tour in the Eastern Rhodopes
In June, 
New Thracian Gold and partners from House for Adventures organised a five-day biking tour as the ultimate test for the Long-Distance-Trail, connecting the Western and Eastern Rhodopes. This promo biking tour went all the way from the village of Momchilovci to the village of Madrets.
Four participants explored one of the most picturesque sections of the long distance trail: Vishnevo - Lyubino - Glavatartsi - Letovnik – Studen kladenets – Boinik planina - Potochnitsa - Efrem - Madrets. The participants are experienced bikers: Maya Karkalicheva - photographer of mountain scenery and activities, Jordan Hlebarov from biking club Adventura, Konstantin Georgiev from cycling club "Kriva spitsa" and Lubomir Botusharov from MTB-BG, the largest specialized magazine on mountain biking in Bulgaria.
"Because of their expertise those participants could provide extremely valuable suggestions to improve the route, and to improve the map for the long-distance-trail which is in preparation. We got instructions for the guest houses along the route and how to improve their service. We exchanged a lot of information, ideas and experiences for better promotion of the route as a great opportunity to practice biking in the Eastern Rhodopes" said the coordinator for ecotourism Mihaela Kircheva.
The Long-Distance-Trail passes through the Western and Eastern Rhodopes (from the village of Trigrad to the town of Ivaylovgrad) and crosses three provinces (Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo), 18 settlements - cities, villages, resorts and nature reserves. The trail leads bikers and hikers along three artificial lakes - Kardzhali, Studen Kladenets and Ivaylovgrad and crosses three big rivers – Arda, Varbitsa and Krumovitsa and several of their tributaries - Malka Arda, Buyuk Dere, Arpa Dere, Armira, Mareshnitsa, Perpereshka River and others.
The total length of the Long Distance trail is around 500 km. Its lowest point (101 m) is at the dam of the Ivaylovgrad dam lake and the highest point (1809 m) is situated near the Perelik peak. The toughest section of the Route is in the Studen Kladenets Game Reserve with impressive differences in altitude and the easiest section is situatedbetween the villages of Gorno Pole (Municipality of Madzharovo) and Rabovo (Municipality of Stambolovo). Participants can enjoy very picturesque panoramic mountain views near the villages of Galabovo, Lyubino, Suhovo, Zornitsa, Boynik, Lyutitsa, Gornoseltsi and other places.
The Route is divided in 17 sections (day trails) from 15 to 40 km each. Each section starts and ends at an accommodation of the NTG network. These seventeen sections (day trails) are the "backbone" of the Route.
Sign up for some of the organized tours along the Transrhodopi trail - click here.
Check the gallery of the tour from June 3 to 7: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.663784710304315.1073741845.163432240339567&type=3
