This one-week guided group walking and wildlife holiday provides the opportunity to explore the amazingly rich cultural and natural heritage of Bulgaria's remote Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains. Here the local people maintain a traditional rural existence, working the fields by hand and tending their livestock on the surrounding meadows and pastures. The Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains are also a paradise for lovers of nature, the region's biodiversity internationally recognised as amongst the most varied and valuable in Europe. Due to its remoteness and the extensive range of habitats, the Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains boasts an amazing number of endemic plants, large stable populations of wolves, bears and other rare mammals, as well as an outstanding mix of birds that includes 37 species of raptor.

Thankfully, great efforts are now being made to preserve this priceless biodiversity as well as the traditional way of life of the Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains, and this holiday offers a unique chance to experience and help in this process. Basing ourselves at a small family-run hotel in the mountain village of Yagodina, we are making a direct contribution to the economy of local community, as well as supporting the development of eco-tourism in the region and the preservation of its habitats, flora and fauna. Furthermore, the interest in the traditional local handicrafts shown by clients on our previous tours, and their enthusiasm to purchase such items as souvenirs, has provided a useful source of extra income for families in Yagodina. It has also promoted a resurgence in pride amongst the local people for their old crafts and traditions and has helped prompt a revival in their manufacture.