EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

The small mountain town of CHEPELARE , 6km north of Progled, is popular with Bulgarians who want somewhere quiet to relax and enjoy the fresh air and scenery, and are unfazed by such blots on the landscape as a timber mill or the Orion ski factory - the only one in Bulgaria. Aside from its ski run - at over 5km, the longest in the Rhodopes - the only specific attraction is the well sign-posted Speleological Museum (officially Tues-Sat 9am-5pm, but hours variable) that whets your appetite to visit the local caves; some "cave pearls"from the Yagodina Cave are its most prized exhibit.

Chepelare has many new family hotels that compare favourably with the older complexes at Pamporovo. Ivan , ul. Progres 6 (tel 03051/3113; US$9 and under), Martin , ul. Kiril Madzharov 23 (tel 03051/2194 or 2164; US$9-18), and Fenix , ul. Murgravets 4 (tel 03051/3408; US$9-18), are all of a high standard for the price, with satellite TV and ensuite bathrooms, and they all rent out ski equipment. There's an ample supply of private rooms , (US$9 and under-18), too; the tourist information centre at ul. Belomorska 44 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel &fax 03051/2110) will be able to point you in the right direction. The best restaurants in which to enjoy Rhodope specialities, and a roaring log fire, are the Gergana and Gorski Kât , both moderately priced.

In a valley off the main road, 28km northwest of Chepelare, ZABÂRDO is the best-known weaving village in the Rhodopes, and home to the colourful rugs and blankets that abound in the region. Here, you can buy a kozek (the local word for a rug) from individual weavers, and watch them at their work. Unusually for what is a predominantly Pomak (Slav Muslim) village, Zabârdo has a folk music festival on the Day of the Assumption (August 15). With a car, you can also visit from here the so-called Miraculous Bridges ( Chudnite Mostove ), rock formations which form a natural bridge over a narrow stream, created when an earthquake destroyed a cave. Near the second bridge is the entrance to the Icy Cave, which remains below freezing even in summer, while nearby is the Big Cave, where pottery fragments dating from the sixth century BC have been discovered. The bridges are sited in another side valley, accessible by a fork in the road to Zabârdo.