Best small train journey in Bulgaria - Private tour

Best small train journey in Bulgaria - Private tour

This unusual train, crawling through the mountains, will introduce you to the big stories of the “Little railway”.

We’ll embark on a magical journey through one of the most romantic and beautiful railway routes in Europe - the narrow gauge railway which goes from Septemvri to Dobrinishte.

A travel in time which will help you immerse in times past and breathtaking scenery while being on board a comfy and warm Little train saloon.

An open intersection between the wagons, many stories, and meetups with the locals are just a few of the emotions that are awaiting you in this wonderful trip!

The railway is in the rankings for “Most interesting railway routes in Europe” published in the European Railway Guide. It's also passing by the highest train station on the Balkan peninsula - Avramovo, situated at 1267m.

Don’t hesitate and give yourself a magical and unforgettable winter day in the Bulgarian countryside filled with beauty, history, warmth, romantics and many positive emotions!

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: tripvam, 20 Serdika street Through the black gate, Floor 1, office number 7, Sofia 1000 Bulgaria

Sofia – Septemvri – Yakoruda – Sofia

It’s 6:40 am. We take you from your hotel or the place you’re staying at and then depart for the small town of Septemvri which is 105km away from Sofia.

We’ll learn about the history of the narrow railway going through the Rhodopes and the locals, whose life wouldn’t possibly exist at some of the villages we pass if it wasn’t for the Little train.

After our arrival there our adventure starts at 8:35 am when your driver-guide will get you on the only working narrow gauge in the country.

At lunchtime – 11:45 am we arrive at the lovely town of Yakoruda. Situated on the two banks of the beautiful Mesta river, this land has a rich history – the fortress remains Gradishteto and Kaliata are reminding us of the times when the Romans were passing by this place while on their Via Egnazia journey (Thessaloniki-Philipopolis-Asia)

During the Ottoman rule over the Bulgarian lands, this small town’s dominant religion became the Islam, yet most of the people still kept their Bulgarian identity and language.

Today Yakoruda is a small town with a population of only a few thousand people. Here from centuries people from both Christian and Islam families are living in peace and friendship! Good evidence for this are the two temples – the mosque and the church, both situated in the town’s center.

The locals are celebrating together and grieving together. They are friendly and hospitable as the people from the Rhodopes usually are, but also energetic and lively because of the peace and harmony in which they are spending their lives in this heavenly place.

On our arrival in Yakoruda, we are going to visit one unique restaurant-like establishment which is situated in the train station building. This interesting place has been under the National Railways management for years until the break of communism. Nowadays it’s been taken care of good local people who are giving life to the place with whats of work and as the locals call it “merak” (desire).

We can have for lunch – homemade meatballs, Yakorudian fries which have been grown on local lands.

After we eat, we’ll go on a refreshing walk through the narrow roads of the town. We’ll see the typical old-fashioned houses built in the local architecture style, but also the big and massive communist buildings which are giving the town feeling of the otherwise small village.

Next, we’ll visit the “St. Kiril and st. Metodii” church famous for its singing bells. We will also see and learn how and where was built the second school in the whole of Bulgaria.

Then, we will climb the “Brachina” – one of the hills near the town where we will get to know from personal experience why the communist government was thinking of changing the town’s name to “Five-pointed star”. There we’ll also learn the story of left and ruined building which used to be the home of many orphans before it suffered from fire.

At about 15:00 we say bye to Yakoruda and hop on our vehicle back to Sofia (where we expect to arrive at about 18:00 pm)