Belogradchik Fortress: A True Hidden Gem in Northern Bulgaria

Belogradchik Fortress is one of those places tourists often skip when planning a Bulgaria itinerary, whether it’s because of its remote location or, more likely, because they’ve never heard of it at all.

But honestly, both those reasons are exactly why it’s so magical. And in three years of living and traveling Bulgaria, the day I spent visiting Belogradchik Fortress — a cloudy, moody autumn day with rain threatening to pour yet never quite following through — is one of the memories of Bulgaria I treasure most dearly.

I had wanted to visit it for years, actually, ever since seeing it on Pinterest… but the fact that it wasn’t really close to any other landmarks in Bulgaria made planning a trip there feel a bit too cumbersome for one single place — I mean, what if it disappointed?

So finally, upon planning a Serbia road trip around some of Southern Serbia’s lesser-known towns and monasteries, it made sense to include it on one of the road trips I was doing, and I was so glad I did.

The fortress feels almost literally woven into the rock formations that surround it, making it hard to tell where nature ends and the human hand steps in. The result is a dramatic landscape that looks unreal, even on the dreariest of days. I can only imagine it during a beautiful sunset!

How to Visit Belogradchik Fortress

Belogradchik is a very small town, so whether you are arriving by bus, car, or train + taxi (I’ve written up how to get here in the section below), it’s a pretty easy walk to the fortress wherever you are in town. Even from the bus stop, it’s only a 15-minute walk.

The summer hours (June through September) are from 8 AM to 9 PM whereas the off-season hours (October through May) are from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Once you arrive at the fortress, you’ll have to buy an entry ticket. As of what I can find online now, February of 2026, the price is €7.50 for an adult ticket. There are guides available, but it’s not always a guarantee that you can find a guide who speaks English.

If you can’t find an English-speaking guide (or you prefer to explore the fortress at your own pace), you can scan an app at the cashier desk and then listen to the audioguide, which is in English. (This is assuming you aren’t coming here on a guided day trip from Sofia, in which case, of course you will have a guide!)

Give yourself at least two hours to explore the fortress and its three courtyards, wander up and down the steps, admire the geology surrounding it, and of course, take a staggering number of photos.

Bonus Tip: One of the coolest things you can do while visiting Belogradchik is taking a hot air balloon flight over the beautiful fortress and rock formations! The price is relatively inexpensive for a hot air balloon experience so if that’s always been on your bucket list, there’s no better time or place!

Getting to Belogradchik Fortress

By Car

This is the way I personally visited Belogradchik and I think it’s the most convenient if you already have a car and are planning to road trip around Bulgaria, especially if you’re traveling around the Balkans at large. It’s especially convenient if you are coming from or continuing onto Serbia. Make sure your rental car allows you to take it across borders, though. We did this route with our own personal car.

When we visited, we were coming from Serbia, from Zaječar. We took the most direct route as per Google Maps… and regretted it. I’m not sure if the road conditions have improved, but I would personally instead suggest taking any route via Vidin, even if it looks longer; the roads will almost certainly be in better condition.

From Belogradchik, you could visit a few other places by car. I’ll put my suggestions below.

• Belogradchik Panorama TV Tower: Written as Панорамна площадка “Телевизионна кула” Белоградчик on Google Maps. If you don’t have a Cyrillic keyboard to type that in, you can simply click here to pull it up.
• Venetsa Cave: Written as Пещера Венеца in Bulgarian. This is in Oreshets and is an easy addition to your itinerary.
• “The Goddess Mother” panoramic point: Written as Богинята майка in Bulgarian. This is a place where you can explore more of the Belogradchik Rocks geological area and hike a bit.
• Magura Cave: Written as Пещера Магура in Bulgarian. This is a bit further afield (closer to Zaječar if going to/from Serbia) but is worth the side trip. It’s famous for its ancient cave paintings…. but unfortunately, they are not visible to tourists due to prior vandalism.

By Tour

If you don’t have your own car, this is definitely the easiest way to visit Belogradchik from Sofia, as a guide will handle everything for you.

This tour includes time at the fortress and city of Belogradchik (so you can eat lunch somewhere in town — not included in the tour price) as well as some time hiking in the Belogradchik Rocks, which are really beautiful and stretch way further than the fortress itself.

Book your Belogradchik day trip here!

If you want to see more while in the area, you can book this Belogradchik Fortress and Venetsa Cave tour, which are two of the best sights in Northwest Bulgaria and are rather close to one another, making the 3-hour drive from Sofia way more worthwhile. However, this tour doesn’t allow for time hiking in Belogradchik, so pick whichever one sounds more appealing to you.

Book your Belogradchik and Venetsa Cave tour here!

By Train

There are no trains directly to Belogradchik, but you can get rather close and then take a taxi. I suggest taking one of the two direct trains to Oreshec (also written Oreshets, which is more similar to how it is pronounced in Bulgarian — the ‘c’ is more like a ‘ts’ sound).

Note that for the 11:55 train, you can simply start your journey at Sofia Sever train station if you don’t want to make a transfer. It should leave Sofia Sever around 12:10 PM.

For the direct train, the price is €6.90 one way or €12.50 roundtrip, and only second-class is available. It’s really easy to book online via the newly upgraded national train website (seriously, I wish this website was this functional when I lived in Bulgaria).

The indirect train is €7.37 one-way (second-class) or €9.30 for a first-class one-way ticket. Roundtrip, it costs €13.29 or €16.80, depending on if you go first or second class. These prices are approximate and subject to change as Bulgaria is transitioning to the Euro.

From Oreshets, the distance to Belogradchik is only 12 kilometers, which shouldn’t cost more than €10. However, drivers may or not be willing to give you the appropriate price, as it’s not like you have much alternative. If you know any Bulgarian — even just basic numbers — you are likely to negotiate a better price.

By Bus

Generally, buses tend to be faster and more convenient than trains in Bulgaria, but Belogradchik is the exception to the rule.

There is only one daily bus according to the bus company site, leaving at 4:30 PM, stopping in Vratsa and Montana, and arriving at Belogradchik Bus Station at 8:30 PM (4 hours). It leaves from Sofia Central Bus Station (Serdika) and should cost ~€8 (the website only has the previous price — 16 BGN — €8 would be the equivalent). The return bus is very early in the morning, 6 AM.

This makes it impractical for a day trip… or even an overnight trip. But it can work as a full weekend trip if you like, leaving in the evening one night, having a full day in Belogradchik, and then returning early the following morning. That requires two nights of accommodation, though.

The History of Belogradchik Fortress

There are really two histories, here: the history of the fortress itself, but also, going way back, the geological history of the Belogradchik Rocks, the rock formation that the fortress is built into.

Similar to the mountains (and monasteries) of Meteora, Greece, this rock formation covers about 50 square kilometers, with some rocks reaching heights of up to 620 meters high.

The Belogradchik Rocks were first formed over 230 million years ago, a result of tectonic plate shifting. Later, it became covered in water and was part of a shallow sea. The water later receded, leaving the rocks behind, which would erode into stone pillars. These pillars grew even taller during subsequent tectonic shifts.

This made the perfect natural location for a defensive fortress — nature had already done most of the work, after all. And thus Belogradchik has served as such, in one form or another, for over 2,000 years, starting with the Romans, who left behind many archaeological memories: Roman coins, iron weapons, and even evidence of an old rainwater collection system for the fortress.

The fortress had its first major expansion in the 14th century, under Ivan Sratsimir, one of the last tsars of Bulgaria. He is responsible for building the stone staircases, wooden drawbridge, and partition walls — basically, the foundations of all that makes Belogradchik what is today.

Sadly though, these efforts were for naught during the Ottoman invasion, which caused the Bulgarian empire to fall. Actually, Vidin (the province that Belogradchik is in) was the final part of Bulgaria to fall to the Ottomans, and the fortress itself was conquered in 1396.

The Ottomans reinforced it the structure almost immediately, as there were many insurrectionists and freedom fighters and hajduk who attempted to attack it multiple times over the centuries.

Eventually, during the Russo-Turkish war, a coalition of Bulgarian, Russian, and Romanian forces liberated it and returned it to Bulgarian control in 1878. Due to its position on the Serbian border, it was also fought over during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, but Bulgaria succeeded in maintaining it.

For all the turmoil its faced over the years, now it’s peaceful: a protected historical monument mostly forgotten by time (and tourists).

Allison Green

Allison Green is a former teacher who has been travel blogging since 2016, visiting 75+ countries in total. She has a Masters in Teaching and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. As a former educator, she merges her writing and educational experience to encourage ethical, sustainable travel. She has been a speaker at the World Travel Writers Conference and TBEX. Her writing, photography, and podcasting work has appeared in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, CBC Canada, and Forbes, amongst others. When she’s not on the road, she lives in Bangkok, Thailand.