The Valley of the Roses

The sheltered valley between the Balkan range and the Sredna Gora has the particular combination of soil, humidity and cool nights that suits Rosa damascena, and it has been growing it for centuries to make attar of roses, the essential oil used in perfumery, of which Bulgaria supplies a large share of the world's production. The economics are startling: it takes something like three tonnes of petals to make a single kilogram of oil, which is why the stuff is priced like a precious metal. Picking happens over a few weeks from late May, always at dawn before the sun drives off the oil, with women moving down the rows dropping blossoms into sacks. Distilleries around Kazanlak open for visits, there is a rose museum, and a festival with a crowned Rose Queen closes the season.

Highlights

• Dawn picking - the harvest in the fields before sunrise, joined on tours.
• A distillery - the copper stills where petals become oil.
• The Rose Museum - the history and economics of the trade, in Kazanlak.
• The Rose Festival - the parade and crowning at the end of the harvest.

When to go

The harvest runs roughly from late May into mid-June and is the only time to see any of it happening; the festival falls at the beginning of June. Picking starts before dawn and finishes by mid-morning, so joining it means a very early start. Outside those weeks the fields are green hedges.

What to expect

The window is short and outside it there is nothing to see but bushes, which catches out visitors arriving in July expecting fields of roses. Tourist picking sessions are staged for visitors alongside the real work. Rose oil sold to tourists is usually heavily diluted rose water or blended product, since genuine attar costs what it costs.

Nearby

The Thracian tomb of Kazanlak is in the town; the Shipka pass and Etar lie over the mountains.