EuroVelo 13 Iron Curtain Trail

Bulgaria

Bulgaria was surrounded by an especially long Iron Curtain due to its borders with Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey. Indeed, the itinerary of EuroVelo 13 passes through a several distinct regions and more than one mountain range. Cyclists can start exploring the Bulgarian section on the border with Serbia, initially passing through the Balkan mountain massif. Going southwards, the route then takes in the Rila, Pirin and Rhopodes mountains and the borders with North Macedonia and Greece. After leaving the Balkan Mountains behind, the route passes through the Thracian lowlands in Greece and Turkey before finally ending on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.

EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2019.

Countries

Legend

Development status

Certified Section of at least 300 km that has successfully undergone the certification process in line with ECF’s European Certification Standard. It is the highest quality level on the EuroVelo network
Developed with EuroVelo signs Developed route (see category below) with continuous signing along the route, incorporating EuroVelo route information panels.
Developed Route developed for cyclists and signed in line with the respective national standard (i.e. it is part of a local, regional or national cycle network). There must also be a website providing information to users. Developed route can be heterogeneous in terms of infrastructure: type of cycling infrastructure, surface, width, gradients, etc
Under development Route containing sections that require further development (e.g. stretches on public highways with high levels of traffic). Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
Planning Undeveloped route with no detailed information publicly available on the Internet. The itinerary communicated is a proposal for the best possible option currently available. It may also contain dangerous sections. Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
Public transport link

Markers

Natural Heritage
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Cultural Heritage
Culinary Delights
Maritime Heritage / The Rhine / The Meuse
Other Point of Interest
Bus station
Train station
Mobility info center

National & Regional Information

Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism

The website provides basic information and findings from the planning process for the Iron Curtain Trail in Bulgaria and the neighboring countries. A description is available as well as detailed electronic map for the trail itinerary.

[email protected] +359 883 379 987

Visit site

Bulgarian Cycling Association

BCA works for the popularisation of cycling tourism and lobbies for the planning and construction of cycling lanes. A big ongoing project is the Black Sea Cycling Trail, to complete EuroVelo 6 - Atlantic-Black Sea.

[email protected] +359898804646

Visit site

Related news

Borderlands: A young landscape architect looks at the Turkish-Bulgarian border area along EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail

Apr 20, 2020

In this period of lockdown, which provides a good opportunity for learning new things, we invite you to discover the work of Mégane Millet Lacombe, a landscape designer who graduated from the National School of Landscape Architecture in Versailles, France in 2017.

Maps & Guides

EuroVelo 13: Iron Curtain Trail 5 [Bikeline Esterbauer]

[email protected]

This cycling guide describes EuroVelo 13 in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece (2.100 km). The perfect tool to guide you during your journey preparation and on the road: precise and very informative maps at a scale of 1:120,000, elevation and distance profiles, GPS tracks, accommodation and service directory, LiveUpdate, handlebar bag format, and spiral-bound. Also available in German.

Iron Curtain Trail booklet - Michael Cramer

This English-language brochure presents the history of various countries separated by the Iron Curtain. With supplementary overview maps and route descriptions of all stages of the Iron Curtain Trail, this brochure is the perfect travel preparation for EuroVelo 13.