Bulgaria · Rhodope Mountains · Premium route guide
Rhodope Gorges and Mountain Lakes
Gorges, lakes and endless bends in Bulgaria's Rhodope mountains.
A two-day Rhodope loop from Velingrad past the Batak and Dospat lakes, into the Yagodina and Trigrad gorges, then Shiroka Laka, Smolyan and Devin. Built from our own track.
- Distance
- 332.1 km
- Peak elevation
- 1,696 m
- Elevation gain
- 6,009 m
- Best months
- May–Oct
- Bulgaria · Rhodope Mountains
- Loop
- 100% paved
The route
A loop from Velingrad to the Batak reservoir, south to Dospat, into the Yagodina and Trigrad gorges (both are dead ends, so you ride them in and out), over to Shiroka Laka and Smolyan, then north via Devin back to Velingrad.
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Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~687 m at the base to 1,696 m at the top, 6,009 m of total climbing across the route.
Our track is 332 km with about 6,009 m of climbing, about 11 hours of riding. It is 332 km, inside your 250 to 350 km target. The climbing is high for the distance, so plan two days.
Why ride it
Two narrow limestone gorges, mountain lakes at Batak and Dospat, the old houses of Shiroka Laka and hundreds of bends with very little traffic.
Hazards
Narrow gorge roads with rockfall, broken tarmac, logging trucks and livestock.
Fuel
Fuel in Velingrad, Dospat, Smolyan and Devin. Fill up before the gorges.
Best months and difficulty
May to October. Difficulty: moderate.
What to see along the way
- Velingrad - Spa town, start and finish.
- Batak Reservoir - Lake at Tsigov Chark.
- Dospat - Town on Dospat lake.
- Yagodina Gorge - Gorge and cave.
- Trigrad Gorge - Narrow gorge and the Devil's Throat cave.
- Shiroka Laka - Village of old Rhodope houses.
- Pamporovo - Highest point of the loop.
- Smolyan - Main town of the Rhodopes.
- Devin - Spa town and fuel.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Rhodope Gorges and Mountain Lakes
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Velingrad / Smolyan - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route, no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
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