Outdoor activities

Safari Kostilkovo
For a nice and wild impression of the nature in the surroundings of the village of Pelevun you have to join this excursion which is headed by the local guide Todor who knows a lot about the history, nature and wildlife of the region. With his 4 x 4 car he will take you from the hotel Luxor and drive you through the landscape to show you the most interesting features of the area. One of the highlights is the visit of Kostilkovo, an abandoned village near the border with Greece. In this village, where are two inhabitants left, Karakachan horses are introduced a few years ago. This Karakachan horse is a local primitive breed, extremely durable and adapted to whole year round ways of living. From strong winters with a lot of snow to the hot summer days in July and August. The horses are relatively small and strong. When Todor parks the car he will show you the horses while walking through the tough nature. Especially in Spring you will also find many orchids and birds (even raptors).
If interested we can offer a package lunch for a picnic – 10 leva (6 euro) per person.

Bike tour to Lyutitsa fortress
This bike tour has a distance of 24 kilometres and goes through a diversity of different scenery from the Luxor Spa Comlex to an oak forest and agricultural lands. From the hotel turn on the left and at the T crossroad turn on the right. In the disrict, after the square, look for the brown sign to Lyutitsa fortress. On the dirt road to the fortress you will cross an area with open meadows where a colony of Sousliks live. You cross the small Armira river and follow the marking to the fortress. The highlight of the bike tour is the Lyutitsa fortress which is worth a visit! This is the site with one of the most amazing views over the Eastern Rhodopes mountains. You can rent a bike from the hotel Luxor for 10 leva (6 euro) per day. Package lunch from the hotel is 10 leva (6 euro) per person.

Hike to the nature area Dupkata
(2 km drive/ride or a 40 minute walk)
Go from the Luxor Spa Complex to the right. Follow this road to the main road through Ivaylovgrad and go here after 100m to the right. Follow this road slightly uphill toward the old part of the town. Go at the village square to the left and walk across the market. Follow the road out of to town after a few bends through the forest one will reach the information panel of Dupkata. In this 6,5 ha large area, in spring time, you will find interesting orchids, represented by 13 species, among wich are the Ophrys mammosa, and Orchis papilionacea. You can also meet the Balkan Wall lizard, Blotched snake, the Caspian Whipsnake and enjoy several bird species.
Here also the big iron cross can be seen. The view over the town of Ivaylovgrad is splendid.
For this tour you can also rent a bike from the hotel Luxor for 10 leva (6 euro) per day. Package lunch from the hotel is 10 leva (6 euro) per person.

Bike tour to Likana nature area (10 km by bike and 5 minutes walk)
Go left from the Luxor hotel and at the end to the right heading towards Svirachi (Свирачи). About 4 km past the village of Svirachi go left, just before the hairpin bends. At the small sign on the left side of the road continue walking into the dirt road to the left.
Likana is a small 3 hectares area that consists a small forest and a field. This protected nature area is the home different plant species including 15 interesting orchid species, as well as other endemic, rare or endangered plant, reptile and animal species.
Rent a bike from the hotel Luxor for 10 leva (6 euro) per day. Package lunch from the hotel is 10 leva (6 euro) per person.

Guided tour to Byala reka
Join this activity which brings you to a wonderful natural place, namely the meanders of Byala Reka (literally translated this means ‘white river’). Go left from the Luxor complex and at the end to the right (south) heading towards Svirachi (Свирачи). Follow this road for 27 km to the village of Meden Buk (Меден бук) from which the meanders can be easily reached by walking. Park here at the village square and continue walking the road heading to the west. There one will have to cross through the river (there is no bridge). Be careful because the rocks are slippery. Continue walking westwards along the river and through the forest for 30 minutes to reach the riverbed. It is more worth to go with a guide who shows you the most beautiful places near the river. The guide takes you from the hotel with his 4 x 4 car through a nice landscape to the meanders. There are several points where you can rest and have a picnic. The locals built tables from river stones where you can sit. You can spend hours with searching for wild flowers and animals like the Spurttightened tortoise, the Hermann’s tortoise and the Balkan Pond turtle. The guide will bring you with a little walk of half an hour in the direction of two other spots of the meander where you can go for a fresh dive into the water. This area of 5.189 hectares is protected by the Bulgarian Law, therefore always take good care for the nature and keep it clean.
Package lunch for picnic – 10 leva (6 euro) per person. Guide with a 4x4 car – 98 leva (50 euro) for the day.

Farm visit and milk products tasting
From Luxor Spa Complex take the main road to Krumovgrad. At the sign for Plevun turn on the left and ride till you reach the small village of Plevun. At the edge of the village near to the forest is the sheep farm with around 280 sheep. These sheep are used for milking and making cheese out of this milk. The farmer Miro is involved with this process from the start on. He milks the sheep and makes the cheese and is very willing to let you enjoy his homemade product as well! After you have seen the farm, you will go to a cosy room and will get the opportunity to taste these products. As tourist you can also take part in this process! A
traditional Bulgarian rural life experience!

Black vultures and Jackals watching from a hide
The entire Eastern Rhodopes are very famous for bird watching. Many impressive species can be seen here like Griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture and Black vulture. Also different kind of Eagles can be spotted here. By making use of a photography/vulture hide you can see the birds from a short distance, without them seeing you and you are able to make amazing photographs. This hide has windows on two sides showing different sceneries. There is not only a chance for birds, but also for Jackal and even Wolves!
Price for renting the hide is 150 leva (77 euro) per day. Price for organizing a feeding so that the vultures can come at the site is 120 leva (52 euro). Guiding and transport with a 4x4 jeep is at the price of 98 leva (50 euro) per day. Four people maximum can enter the hide at once. The hide is equiped with chairs, panoramic windows, and a toilet.

Daytrip “Silent stones and a fortress and tomb in Mezek”
This trip to the North consists beside the total 122 km drive a 40 minute walk to the silent stones.
The Silent Stones are a Thracian sanctuary, here many relicts can be found like a burial tomb, a rock cut stairs, a water basin and over 200 rock niches. This is the highest number of these trapezoidal cut holes. From the top of the iron age stairs one can have a nice view over the woods and lake  Ivaylovgrad. In the village of Mezek one can visit a medieval fortress. Because of rehabilitation works the walls are in good shape and into one tower can be climbed. Another interesting site in Mezek is a Tomb which is build in the 4th century BC. This 30 m long tomb is well constructed and still in very good shape.
To visit these sites one has to drive out of Ivaylovgrad in western direction heading towards Krumovgrad. Turn 500m after leaving Ivaylovgrad to the right heading towards the Ivaylovgrad river dam. Continue the road for 4 km after passing the sideway to Madzharovo. Here at the highest point is the turn off left to the Silent Stones. Park here and continue walking the marked trail with the white red marks and Gluhite kamani signs. This will lead after 1.2 km to the left and 500 metre after there again left.
To go to Mezek continue the road in northern direction and go to the right in the village Malko Graditse (Малко Градище) and right again in the next village Siva Reka (Сива река). Take in Mezek the first road to the right and follow it uphill for 1 km till the signs of Neutzikon fortress and the parking place. Walk from here to the fortress. To reach the Tomb one has to follow the main road through Mezek, and take the signposted turnoff to the right just 350 metre after the bend to the left.
You can combine the trip with a nice wine tasting at a local winery cellar, situated on the way to the fortress.

Daytrip to nature areas Byala Reka and Likana and the villages of Dolno lukovo and Mandritsa
Go left from the Luxor hotel and at the end to the right heading towards Svirachi (Свирачи). About 4 km past the village of Svirachi go left, just before the hairpin bends. During the 30 km trip to the nature area Byala Reka one passes two interesting villages, Mandritsa and Dolno Lukovo. These once flowering villages strongly degreased in number of inhabitants. Now they are like open-air museums. When visiting in May a stop at the protected area Likana is recommended. In this time a year the many orchids which occur here are flowering.