Next, you will continue to the nearby Rhodopi Mountain (about 45 minutes drive from Plovdiv). There, first you will stop at the charming village of Bachkovo, where you will have time for a lunch brake. After that, you will visit its monastery - it was founded in the 11th century and it is the 2nd biggest in Bulgaria. In the monastery is preserved a medieval icon of the virgin Marry, considered to be miraculous.

Your final stop will be the Asen`s fortress - home to the fortified church of the Holy Virgin of Petrich. This stronghold has stood since Thracian times, later reconstructed by the Byzantines in the 9th century to safeguard the route to the Aegean Sea. It was once claimed by the Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade and remained until 1410, when it fell to the might of Ottoman forces. Named in honor of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II, who undertook significant repairs in 1231 to fortify its defenses, the fortress bears witness to the past through an inscription etched into the rock. At about 16:00 you should depart back to Sofia and arrive there at 19:00.