
Melnik is a really cute little town located in southern Bulgaria. Known for its wine, Melnik is a fantastic stop for any lover of fermented grapes. We also saw so many signs for different flavors of wine – I really wanted to try them all, but we were driving, so I had to make do with just the raspberry…

There was a little bit of construction in one section, but other than that the roads were totally fine. I don’t know, maybe they weren’t really closed?

The town itself pretty much consists of one main street lined with pretty shops, hotels, and restaurants. Although small, it’s gorgeous!

I think this is because it was on a Sunday in January, but still. I’m not sure what the deal was!
ROZHEN MONASTERY & MELNIK PYRAMIDS



Regardless, we were able to explore the outdoors since lots of things were closed! LOL. First we drove to the Rozhen Monastery and explored the beautiful grounds. We also wanted to see the Melnik Pyramids, but we had no idea where they were. We pretty much just took a path that went upwards, and turned out that was the right one!
Just look for the sign for Rozhen Pyramids in Cyrillic (Роженски пирамиди).

So this might not be the BEST thing for you to do if you’re afraid of heights. It wasn’t terrible, just a little nerve racking. Good to live a little on the edge, right?




It’s about 3km, or 2 miles, from Melnik to the Rozhen Monastery if you hike the trail. DON’T take the road if you want to walk – it’s much longer! It will take about `1.5-3 hours each way. If you do decide to walk, here’s a detailed post about the hike.
We just drove to the Monastery, which is about a 12 minute drive from Melnik.
VIEW FROM MONASTERY VIRGIN BOGORODITSA SPILEOTISA

Then, walk up the steps for about 10-15 minutes. Turn left at the top, and you’ll see the monastery.
Walk past the monastery, and you’ll find the viewpoint there!


FOOD & DRINK




WHAT WE MISSED:

- The Kordopulov House – An 18th century museum house that showcases an old Bulgarian traditional home. It costs 3.50 leva (so cheap – less than $2 USD!) and you’ll also get a free wine tasting in the cellar afterwards.
- The Wine Museum – This actually sounded really cool, and we were super bummed it was closed. It’s also quite affordable (5 leva, which is less than $3 USD), and includes a tasting of four wines and one rakia.
- Visit a winery – There are many wineries located in and near Melnik, and it would’ve been fun to check one out.
HOW TO GET TO MELNIK

I’m also not telling you to hitchhike if you don’t have a car, BUT – we picked up some hitchhikers on our way from Bansko to Plovdiv. So, people do hitchhike in Bulgaria! Although I’d imagine it might be hard to find someone driving to and from Melnik, unless it’s on a weekend in the summer when it’s a little more busy.
You can also take a bus directly from Sofia but would need to stay overnight if you chose this option. One bus leaves from the Central Bus Station at 2PM and arrives in Melnik at 6PM; the bus from Melnik to Sofia leaves at 6AM. So, you would be kind of stuck!

I’ve never heard of Melnik or the The Melnik Pyramids but those views!! It’s on my list now!
Yeah, they were so incredibly beautiful! 🙂 I hadn’t heard of it either, until recently haha.
Gorgeous photos and view. I’m also a fan of Bulgarian yoghurt – totally underrated! 🙂
Yes, it was so pretty! Right??? I thought I knew good yogurt, and then I tried Bulgarian yogurt. Mind blown!
I know very little about Bulgaria, but it looks charming. I love the cobblestone streets. And the food looks delicious, although I am not generally a fan of cold soups.
Yes, the cobblestone streets are so pretty. Wish we had more of them in the US! And yes, the food is soooo good. I don’t usually like cold soups either, but I like this one a lot for some reason. 🙂
What a beautiful town. We love hiking and your photos are amazing, even the scary bits!
Yes, it was so pretty! I’m glad you like the photos, and yeah the hike was really fun even though parts were a little nerve racking. 🙂 Would love to do the whole trail one day!
Wow Bulgaria looks great and I admit, it’s not somewhere I’ve really considered before. I didn’t realise that they made wine and there is so much history either. Thanks for sharing 😊
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for reading! 🙂 Yes, I think Bulgaria is such an underrated place – hope you visit one day!