Smolyan

Smolyan runs for about ten kilometres along a valley in the central Rhodopes under the Snezhanka ridge, formed by joining several separate villages, which is why it has no real centre and stretches so far. It holds the largest planetarium in Bulgaria, a regional museum with a strong collection on Rhodope life, music and costume, and an art gallery. Above the town lie the Smolyan lakes, a set of small tarns in the forest with walking routes between them, and the Snezhanka tower on the ridge, reached from Pamporovo, gives a view over the whole range. The town is the base for the central Rhodopes and for the ski area at Pamporovo a short distance north.

History

People first settled the area in the 2nd-1st millennium BC, and the town takes its name from the Smolyani, a Slavic tribe who came in the 7th century; ruled in turn by the Byzantine and Bulgarian empires, in the 14th century it belonged with the whole Rhodopes to the lord Momchil before the Ottoman conquest. Under the Ottomans, for five centuries, it was called Paşmaklı, a name it kept until 1934, and the modern town was formed in 1960 by merging the villages of Ustovo, Raykovo and Ezerovo (Wikipedia, Smolyan).

The main sights

• The largest planetarium in Bulgaria - shows in the town centre.
• The regional museum - Rhodope life, music and costume.
• The Smolyan lakes - small tarns in the forest above the town.
• The Snezhanka ridge - the tower and the view over the range.

When to go

May to October for walking and December to March for skiing at Pamporovo. Half a day in the town. Museums close on some Mondays. Planetarium shows run to a timetable.

Good to know

The town is strung out over ten kilometres with no centre, which makes walking impractical. Much of it is socialist-era concrete. Planetarium shows are in Bulgarian unless arranged. It is a base rather than a destination.

Nearby

Pamporovo is north; Shiroka Laka and Gela lie west.