To the Thracians, life after death was much more important than their earthly existence. A large number of tombs discovered in Bulgaria are a proof to that. They were specially built to guarantee comfortable afterlife to the local nobility. One of the most interesting and remarkable among these structures is located in the mound of Ostrusha, which is situated near the town of Kazanlak, in the Valley of Thracian Kings.

Sozopol, the oldest town on the Bulgarian Black Sea coastline, is located 30 kilometres southeast of Burgas, on a rocky peninsula shooting far out into the sea. The earliest settlement here appeared in the third millennium BC and was inhabited by the local Thracian tribe of the Skirimians. The story goes that Phoenician sailors frequented the bay, as they believed it was the best-sheltered harbour along the western Black Sea coast.

About 70 kilometres to the northeast of Varna, Bulgaria's 'Black Sea capital', is situated a town which undeservedly remains outside the traditional tourist destinations - its name is Kavarna. Moreover, the town boasts 2,500-year long history and a number of natural, cultural and historical sights.

Only 21 kilometres away from the centre of Sofia, at the southern foothills of Western Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains) stands the Seslavtsi Monastery of St Nicholas Mirlikiiski, famous for its frescoes from the 17th century which are a true art treasure. The legend has it that the monastery was founded during the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom by a local boyar named Seslav. The remnants of his fortress may still be seen near the monastery.

Beglik Tash, one of the largest Thracian sanctuaries in the Balkans, is located in a spacious clearing of a dense forest, mere six kilometres to the north of popular seaside resort Primorsko. The complex remained unknown to scientists until 2003 as it fell within the boundaries of a communist-era hunting residence named Perla. However, its exploration over the recent decade has shed light on the mystical spiritual and religious life of the Thracians.

The gold of the Thracian kings is well-known in lands far beyond the Bulgarian state borders. Just as valued but much less familiar is the gold traced back to the Middle Ages, and especially valuable is the Preslav treasure from the period of the First Bulgarian Empire. As most of the treasures found on Bulgarian territory, this too was discovered by accident - while ploughing a field outside of the second Bulgarian capital, Veliki Preslav.

The summer solstice is a time for celebration in all cultures. In Bulgaria the holiday handed down from early pagan times is called Enyovden and is marked on the eve of 24 June. On that day the Bulgarian Orthodox Church reveres St John the Baptist, and so the holiday has intertwined pagan rites and Christian beliefs.

The Troyan Monastery of the Assumption of the Holy Mother is the third largest cloister in Bulgaria. It is located in the scenic valley of the river Cherni Osam, 10km to the south of the town of Troyan and 120km to the northeast of Sofia. Almost next to nothing is known about the earliest history of the monastery. It was presumably founded by an Athonite hermit monk, who built a small wooden church by the river in 1600 during his pilgrimage to Wallachia with a wonderworking icon of the Holy Mother of the Three Hands, a replica of the 14th-century wonderworking icon kept at the Monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos.

The city of Gabrovo is situated at the foot of the Stara Planina Mountain, in the valley of the Yantra River. The geographical centre of Bulgaria is located at a nearby site by the name of Uzana. The city is notable for its beautiful nature, National Revival spirit and unique architecture.

Every spring at this time of the year rose picking commences in Bulgaria - a beautiful, albeit labour-intensive ceremony of collecting flowers of the oil-bearing varieties Rosa Damascena and Rosa Alba. The lands, located at the mountain foothills, with abundant rivers, mineral springs and sandy soils, offer the best climatic conditions for the cultivation of these flowers. The Valley of Roses embraces the sub-Balkan fields near the towns of Karlovo and Kazanlak and the region around the town of Strelcha in the Sredna Gora Mountains.