A guide to Bulgaria, beyond the capital

Whenever a friend of mine expressed a desire to visit me in my Balkan lair of Bulgaria, I would immediately say that they couldn't just come to my hometown Varna and call it a trip to Bulgaria. It might be due to hometown antipathy, but I've always thought our so-called Sea Capital doesn't deserve a foreigner's full attention at the expense of Bulgaria's other gems.

Bulgaria is a country of winters not as bitter as Poland's, summers not as scorching as Spain's, autumns as rich as Canada's and springs as green as the UK's. It's nestled between Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania and the Black Sea.

To know Bulgaria is to land in Sófia, spend a couple of days with the old lady of the west, then rent a car... and take a year to experience all its seasons and landscapes: from the highest peak and waterfall in the Balkans to the world's oldest known processed gold treasure.

Since we don't have the luxury of a year to travel, however, I want to offer you two options: day trips from Sofia and longer adventures in two of my favourite places.

The flight between Malaga and Sofia gives just enough time to finish a small book and drain your phone battery playing Sudoku. By the time you land in the capital, your muscles are a bit tense and in need of oiling, which can be fixed with a rakia at Hadzhidraganov's restaurants.

When we are little, our grandmas rub rakia on aching muscles and congested chests before they take a sip for a thirsty throat. I have a soft spot for Sofia, with its communist grey, green domes and Vitosha presiding over every important event, but I'd rather let you discover it on your own.

Instead, I want to take you to the 'rooftop' of Bulgaria: Rila. The mountain with the best herbal tea in the hut on Musala peak, home to the Seven Rila Lakes and the 'water tower' of the country for it is the source of many of our rivers. You might have heard of the tourist magnet that the Seven Rila Lakes are. For once, it is not a tourist trap, but a must-see that charges the soul the farther you get up the ladder of seven lakes. You can get to the starting point in about 1.5 hours from Sofia.

Less touristy but far more demanding is Malyovitsa peak: a great place to sweat and pause for breathtaking views while your shirt dries. From the peak, you can see the slopes of Rila rolling down to the Rila Monastery, a Unesco World Heritage Site, which would be a trip for another day. Make sure you buy a homemade jam for your next-day breakfast.

Although not on the same day, all of these sites you can reach from Sofia for a day-trip.

When Bulgarians say the 'northwest', they usually do so in undertones, as if not to invite the fate of the poorest region of the country. The northwest is the least fortunate financially. But the way nature carries itself there and the playful dialect of its people that even Bulgarians cannot understand, can write fairytales and myths.

Crossing to the northwest is like being let in on secrets. The region at first seems cold, but it quickly charms with unfiltered humour. Once you get to know its people, you feel as if the whole land laughs. Maybe because they have lots of funny-looking rocks like the extraordinary Belogradchik Fortress.

In the embrace of the Vratsa mountains, you can visit another stone phenomenon called Ritlite, reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings; Bozhi most (God's Bridge); and the Magura and Ledenika Caves.

I recommend space in your luggage. Chiprovtsi will convince you that one of its gorgeous rugs, woven by the few women still keeping the craft alive, would fit perfectly in your living room.

Keep in mind that, if you have already tried banitsa by the time you reach Chiprovtsi, they have their own variety of the dish, which is not to be missed.

The western Rhodopes are very different from the east and I'm a sucker for the west. Trigrad Gorge looks straight out of a car advert that sells the landscape as much as the vehicle.

It winds through vertical marble walls towering over the road all the way to Trigrad. A funny name for a mountain village, considering it literally means 'three towns'.

The gorge's dark caves let you explore its insides: the eerie Devil's Throat, where the river disappears into a roaring waterfall, echoing the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and the Haramiya, accessible only by rock-climbing with a guide.

The Rhodopes are about three to four hours from Sofia by car, with Smolyan as the nearest larger town.

To explore Bulgaria properly, rent a car. Public transport is fine between towns and major attractions, but little else. Hear me out, we all love a comfortable bed and a hotel breakfast, but if you can, stay with locals.

Many larger villages have guesthouses advertised only on Facebook or by word of mouth because of hosts in their seventies still preferring phones with buttons.

Sharing their table and eating whatever dish they put in front of you is the closest you'll get to the essence of Bulgaria.

These are only a handful of stops in a country that always has another road worth taking.