The wonder of Bulgaria. Closer than you think.
Village sabori, rose harvest days, fire dancing rites and folk gatherings, in the Balkan and Rhodope mountains. Free, curated, in English, and updated weekly.
5 events and growing. All Villagly countries
"Dozens of kaba gaida masters gather each August on the Ilinden meadows above this tiny Rhodope village to compete and play together in one of Bulgaria's most atmospheric and genuinely ancient music gatherings."
Gaidarsko nadsvirvane v Gela (Гайдарско надсвирване в Гела)
"Every August, bagpipers gather on the open mountain meadows above this tiny Rhodope village to compete and play kaba gaida from dusk till late at night, with lambs on revolving spits and the sound carrying for miles across the peaks."
Mezhdunaroden sabor na gaidarite, Gela (Международен събор на гайдарите, Гела)
"At the foot of the Pirin Mountains, Razlog rings in the New Year with bell-laden kukeri parading through the central square in a living pre-Christian ritual that predates modern carnival by centuries."
Kukeri, Novogodishen ritual, Razlog (Кукери, Новогодишен ритуал, Разлог)
"Bansko's kukeri take to Nikola Vaptsarov Square on New Year's morning in full fur-and-bell costume, upholding a Pirin Mountain village tradition of chasing evil spirits into the new year that runs alongside the town's famous ski season."
Kukeri, Novogodishen ritual, Bansko (Кукери, Новогодишен ритуал, Банско)
"In this UNESCO-listed Rhodope architectural reserve, local kukeri known as pessyatsi parade through cobbled streets wearing bells, garlic and peppers, enacting ritual wedding and harvest scenes before the whole village on the first Sunday of March."
Pesponedelnik, Kukeri na Shiroka Laka (Песпонеделник, Кукери на Широка Лъка)