The 10 hottest things in Bulgaria this summer

Sofia Echo, 9 Jul 2007

If you want to escape the heat in an alternative way, take the chance to boost your adrenaline by bungee jumping, paragliding and rock-climbing.

A good place to start bungee jumping is with club Vertikalen Svyat. The club offers a wide selection of jumping spots, including the bridges at Bunovo, Klisura, Rozino, Dolno Kamartsi, Koprivshtitsa, Vitinya, and at the Devetashka Peshtera and Prohodna Peshtera caves. Prices are between 25 and 50 leva, with the most expensive being from the Vitinya bridge, which at 115m is the highest bridge in Bulgaria.

The club offers various discounts. For example, if you would like to take the plunge with a second jump on the same day, the discount is 50 per cent. Students get 10 per cent discounts. If you are a part of an organised group of five or more people, 20 per cent is cut from the entire price.

Vertikalen Svyat also offers rock-climbing. The basic course lasts about two and a half months and costs 150 leva. Climbing is only done on natural relief and takes place in the mountains of Vitosha, Lakatnik and other places.

Rotor club offers paragliding courses. The full course lasts about two months, although there is no fixed end date, because it depends on whether the person has really learnt to paraglide well. Moreover, after completion of the course, the club advises that people continue to fly with a club instructor for extra safety. The club also advises people on what equipment to buy if they have a serious interest in paragliding after the course has ended. Flights take place in various place around the country ?

Vitosha, Bistritsa, Pernik, Konyavska Mountain near Kyustendil, Zlatitsa, Sopot, Gabrovo and Sliven in the Stara Planina mountain, the Albena seaside resort, and others. The full educational course costs 300 euro, while a one-off tandem jump is 40 euro (when one wants to experience flying as a passenger only).

Delta Sky also offers paragliding. The price for a month-long basic course is 200 euro, and 60 leva for a tandem jump. Jumps take place in Sopot, Vratsa, Varna, Bansko and other locations. The club also offers flying with paramotors, which is close to being your own aircraft. The cost is 450 euro, lasts two, three months and is ideal for flying from flat relief, unlike paragliding where you must be somewhere high, and where strong winds can ruin your flight adventure. Equipment hire is also on offer for those who have already completed a course.

For rafting, the fast currents of the Strouma River near the southern town of Kresna offer a perfect place. Adventure Net organise one-day trips for 40 leva a person. The price includes professional equipment, instructions, experienced guidance and insurance. Preparation for the water adventure takes about an hour and the time you spend in the inflatable raft is about one hour to one hour and a half.

You could also try a two-day adventure at the cost of 90 leva, which includes all the above plus one night spent in a tent, and a bike hike. Rafting in combination with horse-riding is 105 leva and is also a two-day experience.



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