Adventure Photo Tour (Bulgaria)

Horse riding, kayaking, climbing, rafting – physical activities, entertainment, fantastic natural views and lots of dynamic pictures! The models during this photo tour will be also the participants themselves, shooting at each other while enjoy the exciting adventures!

The tour is designed for the photography and adventure lovers. And as a bonus you will get wonderful landscapes.
This tour has a moderate level of difficulty. There will be an instructor for each of the described activities – riding, kayaking, climbing, rafting – so even people without experience can easily join the group. The photography skills of the participants may be on a various level. The beginners will get instructions from the tour leader. Certain amount of time will be devoted to the most important places mentioned in the program.
A visit in Melnik and Rila Monastery is added to the program and a photo walk in Sofia as well. Thus you will combine wonderful nature experiences with a touch of Bulgarian culture. And you will take home a variety of pictures!

Tour leader is Emil Danailov – a Bulgarian outdoor photographer and travel journalist. For many years he was editor-in-chief of "Odysseus" – the most popular Bulgarian magazine for tourism, travel and adventure. Emil loves travelling, adores the mountains and is experienced in many outdoor activities such as trekking, horse riding, biking and kayaking. His photographic interests range from landscapes through exciting outdoor action shots to spontaneous, natural portraits and lifestyle shots – unprepared photographs that particularly appeal to the reporter and journalist in him.
Emil has been a participant in dozens of photo exhibitions and also provides workshop training in Travel Photography. His articles and photos are regularly and widely published in the press. (Gallery)

Photo highlights:

Horse riding
Kayaking
Climbing
Rafting
Rila National Park
Melnik
Rila Monastery
Sofia

Itinerary:

Day 1. Arrival to Sofia

Day 2. Horse riding
The first day of our photo adventure is dedicated to one of the most beautiful photo models – the horses. We will not only take pictures of them, but ride them as well. The photo riding will take place in the area of Borovets Resort. A short drive of about 1 hour (70 km) will take us there. First we will get to know the horses by some riding and then in the afternoon we will find a suitable place both for galloping and for photo shooting. We will use various photo techniques for shooting galloping horses. We will overnight in Borovets.
Riding: about 4 hours with a stop for lunch. The duration of the riding can be prolonged or shortened depending on the abilities and wishes of the participants.

Day 3. Kayaking
Today we drive to the nearby Iskar Dam (30 km, 40 min), where we will be paddling in its still waters. It is far from easy to run the kayak and photographing the other boats, but this is the best way to take nice close-up pictures as the shore would be far away. Kayaks are tourist models, i.e. stable, but you have concerns about your photo gear, if you worry just leave it at the shore and enjoy rowing and the sights around. Of course you can also use waterproof box for your camera, if you have one. We will overnight in Malyovitsa Resort (45 km, 1 hr).
Kayaking will take about 4 hours with a stop for lunch. Of course we can get to the shore for some rest. Kayaking can be prolonged or shortened depending on the abilities and wishes of the participants.

Day 4. Via Ferrata
Rila Mountains is both a National Park and the highest mountain on the Balkan Peninsula. Its rocky mounts and glacial lakes offer wonderful views for the lovers of landscape photography. This will be the scenery for our action today. Via Ferrata is so called Italian steep mountain trail, which is protected by metal railings, metal steps and whose transition requires climbing. Tourists in this type of mountain routes are secured by climbing equipment, and in some places the walking on the "path" is so aerial that resembles a real climbing. The transition of Rila’s Via Ferrata is within the reach of anyone who is in normal physical shape and not afraid of heights. From the highest point of the trail wonderful open panoramic views are revealed to the neighbouring Urdina valley and the peaks of all Maljovitza part of Rila Mountain.
The program for the day is: easy walk for about an hour until the start of the Via Ferrata, 2-3 hours climbing on it, two hours down to the hotel. These are the times without breaks and shooting.
Ascent/descent: 600/600 m

Day 5. Rafting/kayaking
Today will be a really wet day. We will do rafting or kayaking depending on the water level of Struma River. So you have to decide in advance whether you want to take your photo gear with you in the raft/kayak or you just want to have fun without any picture taking. But if you have waterproof box for your camera – then no worry at all. From Malyovitsa we will drive to the rafting starting point (130 km, 2 hrs). In the afternoon we will continue to the town of Melnik (50 km, 1 hr), where we will overnight. But before that we will go around this scenic town and its surroundings for some photo shooting. The town is surrounded by high sand pyramids, in which bases its revival period houses are built. It is important to note that besides being a beautiful town, Melnik is famous for its excellent wine, produced in the local underground cellars. :)

Day 6. Rila Monastery - Sofia
End of all the physical challenges, but not of the photo shooting. From Melnik we will drive to Sofia with a stop at Rila Monastery. Rila Monastery is the largest and the most beautiful Bulgarian monastery, under UNESCO’s protection since 1983. It was founded in the 10th c. by a hermit named Ivan Rilski, who is the most famous Bulgarian saint. The beautiful architecture of the monastery corresponds perfectly with the surrounding high peaks of Rila Mountains. The oldest preserved building is from 14th c. – Hrelyo’s Tower that served as a defense tower during the Turkish invasion. It is about 2-hour drive from Melnik to the monastery (120 km). In the afternoon we will continue to Sofia (2 hrs, 120 km). By the evening we will have our last photo walk, but this time our object is the city architecture and life in the capital.

Day 7. Departure

Price includes: 2 nights with breakfast at a hotel in Sofia; 2 nights with dinner and breakfast at a hotel in Malyovitsa resort; a lunch pack for day 4, 1 night with breakfast in Borovets resort; 1 night with breakfast at a hotel in Melnik; hire of the activities equipment; transport according to the program; transfer from/to Sofia Airport; English speaking guide

The price does not include: flight tickets, drinks and meals not mentioned in the program, insurance, personal expenses, entry fees, tips

Necessary equipment (beside the photo gear): clothes suitable for the described activities; for the Via Ferrata day - trekking shoes, a suitable backpack, waterproof jacket, headlamp, sunscreen cream and sunglasses, lip balm.

Group size: Min 2 – Max 8 persons
 

Gallery