Bachkovo Monastery

The second largest Bulgarian monastery, the Bachkovo cloister, in situated in the valley of the Chepelare river (also known by the locals as Chaya), about 10 km away from the south of the town of Assenovgrad. The monastery is completely surrounded by the hills of the Rhodopi mountain, which together with the size of this Bulgarian monastery and its ancient spirit make one of the most visited monasteries in Bulgaria. The complex and its neighbouring buildings have grown into a developed tourist sight where dozens of small shops, stalls, and restaurants stand on both sides of the walkway to the gates and compel the visitors with their variety. One can find here everything that grows or is being manufactured in the Rhodopi mountain – rare herbs, home-made jams of wild fruit, yogurt and white cheese made of sheep or buffalo's milk, woolen carpets, etc.

The Bachkovo monastery was founded in 1083 by the Byzantine military commander of Georgian origin, Grigorii Bakuriani and his brother Abazii. Very little of this two-storey bone-vault, which lies about 300m to the east of the today’s complex, is still kept from that time. The bone-vault must be seen by any visitor there, due to its unique wall-paintings, which rank among the most valuable works of Orthodox art of the 11th –12th c.
The Bachkovo cloister is known and appreciated for the unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian culture, united by the common faith.

The Bachkovo monastery is located on the right bank of the Chepelare River (Chaya), above the Plovdiv-Smolyan road, 29 km away from Plovdiv, 89 km away from Sofia and 10 km away from Assenovgrad.