Banya, Plovdiv Province

Banya (Bulgarian: Баня) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in Plovdiv oblast and is close to Karlovo.

SPA resorts

The pretty health resort village of Banya is situated amidst a large park at the foot of the "Sashtinska Sredna gora" mountain, near the geographic centre of the country in the Valley of Roses, between the Balkan and the Sredna Gora mountains. It is easily reachable by car, train or bus. The beaches, swimming pools, sport complexes, balneological hotels and rehabilitation establishments in town create wonderful conditions for pleasant summer holidays and tourism. The fans of the Bulgarian wines may sample the quality drinks produced by the famous “Rose Valley” winery.

Mineral springs

The remains of an ancient village prove that the town was used for hydrotherapy in ancient times. There are 9 hydrothermal sources.

There are plenty of mineral springs and the place was populated even in the new Stone Age. In the region are found many funeral Thracian mounds, which testify the existence of Thracian settlements in the area.Later, during the period of Bulgarian Revival was developed the production of rose, spearmint and lavender oils, as well as wine- growing. After the Liberation the two brothers Bagarov, who were contractors, came in the town and constructed three factories for rose oil distillation and holiday houses in the area of the thermal springs

Boris III and his palace

The Banya Palace summerhouse of Boris III with its picturesque yard-garden, lovingly called by the locals “The Palace” is located in the town of Banya. In 1927 Tzar Boris III took a cure for rheumatism in the country house of the manufacturer I.Bagarov. Pleased at his stay, he decided to build up a tsar’s estate. It was located in a courtyard with luxious vendure and was finished in 1929.

Transport

• By airplane - Banya is 155 km away from Sofia, 50 km away from Plovdiv, 10 km away to Karlovo, Hissar and Sopot. You can arrive to Sofia or to Plovdiv /Krumovo/ airport. We can take you from the Sofia airport to Bania for 50 euro, from Plovdiv airport to Bania 25 euro.

• By bus - There are many international buses to Plovdiv. From Plovdiv to Bania there are buses on every hour: 7:00,8:00,9:00 ....to 20:00 from the bus-station named "юг" /south/. The buses are for direction Karlovo. You will travel about an hour.

• By train - There are trains from Plovdiv-Banya-Karlovo and back Karlovo-Banya-Plovdiv. So you have to arrive to Plovdiv or Karlovo by bus or train and then to take a train to Banya.

External links

• Banya, Bulgaria website